Terms of Business
STANDARD TERMS OF BUSINESS - July 2008
Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to Okeford Veterinary Centre Ltd. These paragraphs detail our practice terms and conditions of business. If you have any queries arising from this document, please ask for further explanation or clarification as required.
All practising Veterinary Surgeons must be registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and are bound by the provisions of the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct At Okeford Veterinary Centre Ltd we offer a high and continually improving standard of care within the parameters of the RCVS guidelines. Okeford Veterinary Centre Ltd is an RCVS Accredited Practice.
OWNERSHIP OF RECORDS & CASE HISTORIES
Records of all treatment and examinations received by your pet are recorded on our dedicated veterinary practice management system to ensure that any veterinary surgeon examining your pet knows the medical history of your pet. Where treatment has been provided by another veterinary practice the practice reserves the right to contact your former veterinary surgeon to obtain a full case and treatment history for all animals to be treated.
The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting their results, ownership of the resulting record, for example a radiograph, together with all other case records, remains with the practice.
FEES AND TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS
All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case, and according to the drugs, materials and diets used. Our full written price list is available on request. You will receive a detailed fee note for every consultation, surgical procedure or transaction with us. If we receive instructions from a person acting on your behalf to provide treatment to one of your animals, we would respectfully remind you that responsibility for all our costs and charges lies with you, as if you yourself had given us the instructions.
PAYMENT TERMS
Our payment terms require payment in full on delivery of treatment or collection of your animal or prescriptions, as appropriate. Unless special terms have been agreed, if payment is not
received within seven days of treatment, we reserve the right to add a fee to your bill to cover administration charges. After due notice has been given to you the client, overdue accounts will be
referred to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt, such as court fees etc.
Where medicines or products are collected by a person acting on your behalf goods must either have been paid for beforehand or paid for at the time of collection.
Payment can be made in the following ways: cash, personal cheque up to the limit of a valid cheque guarantee card, credit cards, switch and debit cards. Payment can be taken over the telephone.
ESTIMATES OF TREATMENT COSTS
We will provide estimates of treatment costs on request and in good faith. You must, however, understand that complications or unforeseen circumstances could arise which may require additional treatments or further surgical interventions and that we will charge you for these as they occur.
INSURED ANIMALS
Okeford Veterinary Centre Ltd. strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of our staff.
Even if your pet is insured, responsibility for payment of fees remains with you the client at all times and you will be asked to pay for any treatment given to an insured pet at the time of treatment. You will then be able to claim the fees directly from the insurance company less any excess due on the policy. In certain circumstances it may be possible to arrange for payment of fees directly to us, please discuss this with our staff.
UNDER THE CARE OF YOUR VETERINARY SURGEON AND REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS
Many of the drugs supplied by your veterinary surgeon can only be supplied to you if your animal is under the care of one of our veterinary surgeons. For most conditions this will mean that it will be necessary for the vet to examine your pet immediately prior to prescribing a drug for the first time. Following this, if your pet requires a repeat prescription of medication you will need to give us 24 hours notice so that we can ensure we have the correct drugs available for your repeat prescription. Where your pet requires repeat medication it will be necessary for the vet to see your pet at least every 6 months, in some cases the vet may require to see your pet more often.
For certain flea and worming products it will be possible to prescribe these drugs providing the vet has seen your pet within the last 12 months for its annual health check and vaccination. If we have not seen your pet within the last 12 months it will not be possible to prescribe these products but we will be happy to carry out a free of charge consultation with the vet for the prescription of flea and worming products.
OPENING HOURS AND OUR OUT OF HOURS SERVICE
Okehampton - Our normal hours of opening are 8.30am - 6.00pm Monday – Friday and 8.30am – 5.00 pm Saturday. If you call in or telephone during these hours you will be able to speak directly to one of our staff. Surgeries are run on an appointment system.
Chagford – Our normal hours of opening are 9.00am – 1.00pm Monday – Friday and 5.00pm – 6.00pm Monday and Friday only. If you telephone outside these hours your call will be re-directed to our Okehampton branch, please be clear to state that you want to be seen in our Chagford branch rather than in Okehampton. Surgeries are run on an appointment system
Out of Hours - If you require a Veterinary Surgeon in an emergency outside of our normal opening hours please telephone our normal number and your call will be answered by a message handling service, this service will take your contact details and contact the duty vet who will then telephone you.
Overnight Hospitalisation - If your pet needs to stay at Okeford Veterinary Clinic overnight he/she will be checked on a regular basis according to need, this will be determined by the veterinary surgeon in charge of the case. At a very minimum your animal will be checked at 6.00pm, 10.00pm & 8.00am the following morning.
