Shires Veterinary Practice Reviews 9

I took my elderly cat to Shires in Eccleshall this morning and saw Aaron for the first time. He is the best vet I have ever consulted with. He took his time to take a detailed history and examination, he was clearly highly skilled, knowledgable and the most empathetic vet I have ever seen.
Its not great news for my cat who is end of life, however, I am so reassured having Aaron overseeing his care and ensuring we keep him comfortable and happy.
The young lady receptionist ( sorry I forget your name) was also really lovely, kind and caring and so helpful
Thank you both so much,
Janey Merron

Failure to diagnose meningitis in our puppy despite a day of VERY expensive tests (private equity at its worst) and symptoms that should have been noticed and diagnosed. Unfortunately there appeared to be no one of real experience on duty that day to give the young vet a second opinion! An emergency dash very early the next morning ,as our puppy seriously deteriorated overnight, to a completely different vets for a second opinion! They diagnosed very quickly!! We will never return to the Eccleshall practice despite it being on our doorstep!! We went to arbitration and they couldn’t even put their hands up to say they had failed to diagnose…sent what was clearly still a very poorly puppy home and that the vet we saw had no real concerns after all the tests! This was Thursday, she told us to go to Shires Stone on the Saturday, after the Friday Bank Holiday (because they were closed) if we were still concerned! I can’t put into words how angry we are! We lost what could have been crucial time, thankfully our puppy survived. Their argument at arbitration that they simply did tests that the replacement vets would have had to have done anyway, so saved us money there??? Such a poor stance which demonstrates to me that it is all about profit rather than customer care!

Shires are absolutely wonderful vets; I really couldn't recommend them enough. Both Maddies are incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly, treating my Rosa with such care and kindness. It’s clear my cat is getting the best care possible here and that the vets have a true love and passion for the animals they work with; it is such a relief knowing she’s in such capable hands. Everyone did everything they could to make Rosa and myself feel at ease during all our multiple visits. I am regularly kept up to date with everything regarding Rosa’s treatment, and every aspect is explained to me clearly which is highly comforting. We are always met by the lovely Claire at reception who immediately makes us feel at ease. Thank you so much for everything Shires!

Terrible. Booked two puppy’s in for their first injection they didn’t ask and charged me for both puppies for all 4 injections.

2 nd injections where booked in for the 1st of October only to be told when I rang them on the 29 th of September it was the 10 th of October rang today to clarify the time only to be told it was to late now they’d have to start again but took no responsibility of their mistake Infact the receptionist was quite rude and condescending

On the 10/01/2025 we had to take my springer spaniel CHASE to shires in stone. What an amazing service they gave us. Chase had been having fits since April 2024 but on the 9th January 2025 chase had a cluster of fits he was really sick to the extent I had to make the decision to have Chase put to sleep they met us as we pulled up the vet examined my baby outside he was almost dead anyway I would recommend this surgery to anyone at all. Thank you to everyone who looked after my chase and gave us an amazing service. I can’t thank you enough Mrs Dorea Banks

My review is of the Stafford branch. My cat developed sudden limping with one of the hind legs and was seen by the vet on an emergency appointment who diagnosed a physical injury. There was no history of trauma and no physical signs of injury, albeit the limb was a bit tender. The clinical notes do not show that the vet examined the paw for a pulse or check the temperature of the limb, which may have indicated a more sinister condition such as a developing clot, and if the correct medication had been prescribed by the vet at that appointment then just maybe the clot could have been dissolved and my cat not have a full blown thrombus which eventually led to it's death. The director of the practice, in retrospect, did admit that a clot could have been present at the time of the emergency presentation.

I sought the help of VCMS who mediated between myself and the practice, I was offered a refund by the practice of the emergency fee, however I declined because I would have had to sign a gagging order preventing me naming the practice and to post a review online.

I feel the vet in question is lacking experience and should have provided a more thorough examination. Unfortunately in the UK a poorly performing can continue practising because the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) cannot investigate cases of negligence, only serious professional misconduct. However, there are currently on-going recommendations to parliament for future veterinary legislation to encourage a change in the scope of the RCVS powers and the regulation of veterinary professionals to both update the legislation and align it with other regulators, such as medical and dental.

Frenchie went to be spayed Fri 16th Dec and was dead the next day. She had excessive salivation through the night was restless and had a bout of diarrhoea. We were told the first incision for the operation was in the wrong place and she went hypothermic during the operation. We were told to give metacam and as soon as the i removed the plastic syringe from her mouth she fitted. We scooped her up on finishing the fit. Then because the vets we used in Stafford were shut because it was a Saturday we drove to Stone to the branch that was open. She stopped breathing on route. My son attempting cpr in the car. We asked to be compensated for the operation, the cremation and urn and the value of her. We got the operation fee back yesterday in April.

I’ve been going to this vets for years now, my most recent dog had to have eye surgery when she was a puppy and the vet who treated her was Garrant and he was brilliant. He took the time to show me images in a book to explain the exact procedure. My dog is very nervous around people and everyone is great with her. Definitely recommend this vets to others.