Highcroft Veterinary Group Reviews 40

My complaint ( Tuesday 24 th 2026 ) is that I was dealing with too many vets in 2 days in a very , very stressful situation
- Day 1 - Assigned vet GS ..
Day 2 - dealt with one vet in the morning J Clarke who didn’t ring after an hour as she said she would and who didn’t say a word to me when i passed her in the car park , The last vet G - the one who did eventually ring me - explained the dire situation .. - and later on brought me my Euthanised pet …
A bad experience not helped by dealing with multiple people …

Carolize needs diversity and sensitivity training and should not be dealing with members of the public until she has had this. Made my experience much worse than it needed to be. Will be going elsewhere to have my hamster euthanised as can not deal with that bedside manner when having to cope with the loss of a beloved pet.

Money money money
Is the Only interest here.
Emotionless staff revised script from Vets only interested how much money you can splurge on your beloved family member.
£3000 for a non surgical procedure my local vet £350.
Terrible

Took our rabbit to the Whitchurch vet and can't recommend them enough. The vet Paige was amazing, really kind and took the time examining our rabbit and talking through treatment options. We had tests done and when we got the results she again took the time answering all our questions and explaining the results in great detail so we could decide the best treatment plan. At no point did we feel rushed or pressured and I really feel they just went the best for your pet. Reception team have also been great, responding very quickly and just generally being helpful!

Wells Road

After reading other reviews regarding losing their beloved pets to highcroft, we felt it is important to share what happened to our dog, Marlee.

Marlee went into highcroft vets for an operation to clean her anal glands. A couple of days after Marlee started to be sick and blood was coming from her anus. We were very concerned and called Highcroft. We then came in for an urgent veterinary appointment where she was given an anti sickness jab and tablets. We were then assured that after a few days she would be okay. She was checked over by a vet at Highcroft and we were told she was very healthy.

Just after midnight there was a significant amount of blood that Marlee was passing, so we called again for an emergency appointment for her to be seen. We were then again assured that this is normal. We stressed our concern where my dad even described it as like a ‘murder scene’ again we were told this is completely normal and to be expected and wait till the morning to see how she was.

However, by 6:30 in the morning it was too late and we found her passed away in her bed.

As her owners, we knew she was deteriorating and trusted the vets to guide us. We were not taken seriously, and the advice we received was, in our view, dangerously inadequate. Highcroft’s failure to provide proper aftercare following her operation had devastating consequences.

When we submitted our complaint, the response addressed only the appointment from the previous day and made no acknowledgement or accountability for the phone call we made just after midnight.

I would also like to say how we chose this vet for the benefits of the out of hours care, which we felt we did not receive.

The only thing we had hoped to gain from speaking up was for meaningful changes to be made so that no other family has to experience the same heartbreak we have.

We took our hamster to see the Exotic Vet in Whitchurch because they weren’t acting themself.

Paige was our vet and they took so much care and attention to our hamster. They listened and gave off a positive impression they really cared for animals and provided a full examination to our hamster in a supportive and respectful way. Paige recommended antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and probiotics to see if this would help but was realistic in stating sometimes we don’t know with small animals like hamster. They also gave us the option to buy other probiotics not directly from the vets which was a refreshing point of view.

It’s hard with hamsters because people see them as easy pets or ‘just hamsters’ like we had at another Vets practice, but Paige did not have this view. Paige is the best vet I have ever come across in caring for an hamster and I cannot recommend taking your exotic animal to be reviewed by them. I will absolutely be returning if I need further hamster advice or treatment.

Thank you Paige for restoring my faith in vets treating hamsters.

We went to Highcroft Vets Eastville for our cat to have teeth removed, they removed 13 in one go at a cost of nearly £1400. They then suggested he may have some kidney disease, so a few weeks later he was booked in for a urine test and blood pressure. When we picked him up we were informed that in order to get a urine sample they had inserted a needle into his bladder. They did this without anaesthetic.
Within 24 hours our beloved cat sadly passed away. We didn’t find out for a week as he had crept into a neighbours garden. We informed the practice immediately.
Insurance claims for both treatments were submitted and approved. This week I received an email from Highcroft, informing me that I owed £12.10 for the insurance shortfall. The email also said “ Your prompt payment is appreciated. If there is anything else we can help you with regarding your cat’s health care, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
I rang the practice to complain and received a call from the manager apologising if the email was insensitive, closely followed by “would you like to pay now over the phone” I suggested they write it off as a goodwill gesture, this was met with silence.
You decide if you wish to use this practice but I am genuinely appalled and will never take an animal there again

Took an injured animal into Wells Rd as it was closest to me and I’ve had bad experiences here before. 2 receptionists spent a few minutes messing around with their phones “trying to call the vet” to let them know we’d arrived. No sense of urgency at all. I was told I’d receive an update but haven’t heard anything from anyone.

We got some kittens and because of the level of care provided for my dog when she was unwell, despite the incredible cost, I decided to go with Highcroft because, if nothing else, up to this point they were honest.

I spoke to the reception staff and they said that if I joined their Pet Health scheme I could get inoculations and flea treatments. I was led to believe that there would be no further costs. When I arrived on time for the appointment with the kittens, I was presented with. £138 cost for a “consultation” with the vet. I was told that these consultations were per-pet and wasn’t covered on the Pet Health plan. When I saw the vet she was dismissive, didn’t care bout my experience with her, weighed the kittens and checked their pulses - which I assumed was covered under what they called “Comprehensive Health Check” under the plan. Apparently not. I was with the vet for about 15 minutes in total and for that they charged me £138 plus the cost of the initial payment for the Pet Health scheme AND a direct debit of approx £40 per month.

I then looked at Trust Pilot reviews for this practice and the overwhelming view is that they charge hidden costs and are prohibitively expensive. They are not transparent about what they charge.

I have put a complaint through and am still awaiting an outcome for this. I will report back with their response.

UPDATE: Full refund offered 16/07/25. Much happier now.

This so called vets at Whitchurch Highcroft miss diagnosed my cat.
He unfortunately had cancer of the liver and I will be looking to take legal action against them.
All this so called practice only cares about money before animals.

I called them this evening only to be given the complaint email and didn’t even ask my name or my mate that passed away.

Utterly disgraceful.

Took my rabbits in for neutering they were poorly treated after surgery when we collected them they had left syringe fool all over out rabbits gave us no after care or post op information and gave us the wrong medication with the wrong strength and didn't explain how to give the medication we found tape stuck to the legs and near the genital area and had to cut it out of theire fur as it was stuck and charged us for a stronger different medication than prescribed and give to us do not take your animals here

Total ripoff, quoted £350 to have our cats gum cleaned, on dropping her off we were informed there may be a need to get a tooth removed, never mentioned in the 1st place and this would cost in the region of £1000.00.
Upon collection of cat we were charged £380.00 for the clean. We will never take our animals back to them.

Terrible experience. This clinic seems more focused on making money than actually caring for animals. I left feeling like my pet was just a pound sign to them. Morally bankrupt.

Contacted HighCroft vets ( wells road ) this afternoon due to them being an emergency vets . We contacted them as our dog had been bitten by another dog and had a wound to his paw.

The receptionists initial response was “of course we can offer you an appointment but there will be an extra cost due to the bank holiday etc” , we agreed and said it was okay as we just wanted our dog to be checked over. I explained we weren’t not registered with the surgery, she replied saying “ we don’t refuse to treat any animals” regardless if you’re a registered customer or not.

We were advised that because we had made a complaint involving the care and negligence of our previous dog they would not be able to see us . In fact, we were told our notes said “due to a relationship break down and lack of trust” we wouldn’t be offered any future appointments. My response was “ you’re refusing to see a dog that needs medical attention” the receptionist repeated the reasoning. This is without a doubt the worst vets you could ever be a part of, the only reason we contacted them today was purely because it’s a bank holiday and they are close to home. Thank goodness our vets is open tomorrow!!

After agreeing to leaving my cat there for observation (wasn't eating), I was contacted by clinicians with 'updates' over the weekend (including one Sunday evening!) trying to pressure me into agreeing 'urgent out of hours' scans for £900, when challenged they admitted there was no change in his condition and they weren't necessary at that stage???

Awful experience, alongside the worry of a poorly cat had to deal with an unethical organisation trying to exploit my worry to maximise profit. Treatment estimates started around £500 but when I actually left the cat they quickly started spiralling up to £4-6000. The actual treatment cost close to £1000 (by coincidence maximum insurance claim). My cat came out next day fully recovered and not needing the treatments.

Highcroft vetinary practice based at Whitchurch in Bristol. Our 18month old labrador was booked in to be neutered. Although a successful operation our dog stopped eating for 6 days after and was violently sick during this period. He was also passing digested blood in his stool. Having discussed this with the vet they seemed very keen to get our dog back in for some tests, which we did. Approx £2350 later and 1 x-ray and 1-Ultrasound along with a few blood tests the vet was no wiser as to the cause. I took my dog home fearing the worst and stopped any meds he was given. He recovered within 48hrs. Common sense suggests the meds he was given was probably the likely culprit. Some dogs don't react vey well to metacam. During the whole process i felt my dogs care was financially driven. Even after i had expressed my concern that the issue was not getting solved even though they had failed to get to the bottom of the eating/sickness issue they continued to request we bring him back for more tests and more expense. I refused. Thankfully my dog has now fully recovered, i am £2350 out of pocket and still didn,t have a proper diagnosis for the issue. I will not be using Highcroft again.

After losing my pet milo nearly 1 year ago , i have had the stress of complaining to the vet defence society about poor care , lies and poor record keeping , of course after waiting over 10 weeks for a unbiased investigation it sided with the vets which I'm not shocked about , they stated it was their word against mine and they had to side with their clients , a waste of time and a cover up from vets .
I was next advised to contact the RCVS , who suggested I request my pets clinical records , which every pet owner is entitled to ! many obstacles put in the way to obtain these .
RCVS investigated and asked for statements from vets all lies and nothing they stated were actually recorded in clinical notes , a absolute joke, I was advised by RCVS to go to mediation for my out of pocket expenses of over £600 , within 1 day this was declined , avoid these so called vets at all costs they lie to cover up poor care and fabricate untrue events , I would not recommend taking any pet you love to this vet , especially wells road ,you will pay extortionate prices and recieve poor care , I would have given a minus 5 star but there is no option sadly , avoid at all costs .
Worst thing came in November 2024 when I recieved a letter from Wells road bristol from a manager , stating our relationship had broken down ( a understatement on their part) it stated they would treat my pet for 10 days but I was advised to find another vet , if only this person knew anything about my case ( obviously not ) they would know my dog died a painful horrific death February 2024 at the hands of wells road practice

Killed our dog through bad vetinary decisions and also admitting they made mistakes. Offered us compensation. We declined compensation to try and get answers.
They subsequently lied in the investigation and withdrew offer of compensation.
This vets should be ashamed and should not be practising in my view.

It's such a shame this vet practice doesn't have a 5-star rating here, they have been amazing for us since we switched from the terrible Vets4Pets Imperial Park - who put our pets at huge risk - in 2022. The vets are kind, caring and take time to learn about your family and animals. We have a rescue who is very nervous and they've gone above and beyond to support him. They're flexible and have fair fees - the Healthy Pet Club is a great way to spread payments for basics. I can't recommend them enough.

Horrendous experience, did not provide basic treatment to my pet to help reduce a raised temperature, although were happy to carry out lots of tests if I paid over £4000. Not sure how that is supposed to help reduce a temperature! Demeanor changed after declining these tests and I was then treated like a criminal, literally! No people skills and definately do not seem to care about animals. Talk down at you and are patronising. Requested for documents as proof of treatment and tests carried out as that is our right as a customer to see the evidence that we have been charged for and they could not produce any of it other than clinical notes which upon checking there were false statements, incorrect information, missing documentation, and more. After writing in a complaint, they did not even attempt to look into their record keeping or offer to amend the mistakes, (which can be done by adding notes to make it clear for example, on such a day this was written however this was a typing mistake and should have read). Regarding the lack of care and treatment to my pet and the disgraceful way they treated me they chose to repeat what I had already told them and twist the whole concerns pointed out to them to make it appear I was doing them some sort of injustice! There are the odd few veterinary staff members that do care but as whole, I do not recommend Highcroft.