Slapdash approach to serious illnesses
Whilst we were on holiday, our dog sitter took our 10 year old dog to Vet4Life, as she was off her food and extremely lethargic. She ended up seeing a newly qualified vet, who wasn't very sure of what to do other than "go home and keep an eye on her", once he'd given her an appetite enhancing injection and sold our dog walker 6 tins of dog food! Via phone from our holiday, we pushed for blood tests. These ended up being taken, although the wrong ones were requested, consequently missing the underlying issue. Our dog then took a big downturn over the following 24 hours and had to be rushed back. At this point it was suspected she had Addison's Disease and was seriously ill. A referral was needed to provide round the clock care for recovery, but this ended up being a animal hospital 50mins drive away (conveniently for them, the referral centre was also owned by their parent organisation). On our way in the car to the referral centre, our dog suffered a major seizure, due to having been given an insulin injection and then having the glucose drip removed too early.
The whole episode could have been avoided with earlier diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the glucose drip should have remained in place for the journey to the referral centre, reducing the risk of a seizure.
When we complained after the event, they weren't even prepared to talk to us on the phone or face to face. Everything was dealt with on email only and of course no acceptance of any fault their side.
This vet practice has Mars Corporation as its ultimate parent company, so we feel that their focus is on trying to generate £££s by keeping their costs low, charges high.
Use them if you have no other choice, but push for answers and and be prepared to challenge them if they send your pet away. Better still, find a local independent practice who really care about their animal patients.
