Terms and Conditions

PET HEALTH INSURANCE

Ashgrove Veterinary Centre strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents.

We will process a direct claim for treatment if the policy information and a claim form/link is provided at time of treatment and the condition is covered by the insurance policy. We reserve the right to refuse to process a direct claim if this information is not provided.

It is the responsibility of the client to be aware of what treatment/medication is and is not covered by their insurance policy.

Annual Policy excess and co-payment excesses are payable at the time of treatment.

OWNERSHIP OF RADIOGRAPHS AND OTHER RECORDS

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 remains with the practice. Case records are the property of, and will be retained by, Ashgrove Veterinary Centre Ltd. Copies will be passed, on request, to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case. Client confidentiality is observed at all times. Clients can request a copy of their own pets’ clinical history at any time.

SUPPLY OF MEDICINES (As well as other classifications of medicines)

Ashgrove Veterinary Centre Ltd dispense Prescription Only Medicines (POM-V), as well as other classes of medication. This category of medication can only be prescribed and dispensed by a Veterinary Surgeon. POM V’s can only be dispensed to animals under the care of Ashgrove Veterinary Centre or on presentation of a written prescription from another Veterinary Surgeon.

REPEAT AND WRITTEN PRESCRIPTIONS

It is the general policy of this practice to re-examine an animal requiring a repeat prescription every six months, but this may vary with individual circumstances and is at the discretion of the consulting vet. At the time of re-examination, a consultation fee will be charged. Should you require a repeat prescription, please contact the practice 48 hours prior to collection to allow time for the veterinary surgeon to dispense the required medication.

Written prescriptions are available and a fee will be charged per prescription for up to 3 different medications (not including Controlled Drug medication). A written prescription for a Controlled Drug medication is available but only 30 days medication can be prescribed per prescription. Forty eight hours’ notice is required for a written prescription. A written prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is required. The amount of medicines supplied on a prescription and the number of repeat prescriptions allowed is the decision of the prescribing Veterinary Surgeon.

ORDERING NON-STOCK ITEMS

If a client wishes to order an item or diet for their pet which is not normally held in stock, please note that we must be informed within 5 working days of placing the order of any amendment or cancellation of the order. If an item remains uncollected after 7 days, it will be charged to the client’s account as we will not be able to return it to our supplier. Please note that some ordered items cannot be cancelled as we are unable to return these items to our supplier. When placing an order, we will specify if this is the case.

ESTIMATES OF TREATMENT COSTS

We will happily provide a written estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. However, please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate. Our staff will attempt to be as accurate as possible when providing estimates.

OVERNIGHT CARE

Out of hours care is provided by Vets Now, based at Kingswells. We do offer a limited inpatient service Monday –Saturday morning where our Registered Veterinary Nurses will be on site with your pet and a plan for overnight care. (Please note there is not a veterinary surgeon on the premises overnight). This may not be suitable for all cases (e.g. unstable cases like seizuring dogs) and can be discussed with our Veterinary Surgeons. If overnight care is required at Vets Now, then transport is the client’s responsibility.

TRAINING PRACTICE

Ashgrove Veterinary Centre is a RCVS recognised training practice for student veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses. In the course of their training, students will assist during procedure undertaken at this practice under the direct supervision of a qualified veterinary surgeons. Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact any member of our staff.

SETTLEMENT TERMS

All consultations/medications are payable at the time of consultation/collection.

If an invoice/statement is sent following treatment or on settlement of an insurance claim, this is payable on receipt.

DEBT RECOVERY

In the event of non-payment of any invoice in its entirety within the required period, further administrative and debt recovery charges may be applied to your account and referral to Debt Recovery can take place forthwith.

Please note that upon referral to a debt recovery agency of our choice, you will incur additional fees potentially up to a maximum sum of £1000. You agree to reimburse us of all debt recovery charges we incur in the pursuit of recovering the debt due to the additional correspondence, phone calls, reports, administration costs and other debt recovery actions.

You contractually agree to pay these additional debt recovery sums and interest as a result of your non-payment under the agreed payment terms.

If the account remains in arrears 30 days after referral to the debt recovery agency, we reserve the right to commence legal proceedings. You agree that you will be liable for any additional debt recovery costs thereafter as well as legal costs. You agree to be liable for our legal costs on an indemnity basis in addition to the principal sum and interest.

We reserve the right to not undertake any further commercial dealings while the debt is outstanding and we can suspend the provision of any further goods and/or services until the outstanding sum is paid in full. Please note county court judgments can impact your credit rating.

FEES

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, the veterinary surgeon’s assessment of the medication required and according to the drugs, materials, consumables and diets used. Prices of any medicines prescribed and our written fee list are available on request. A detailed invoice is available for every consultation, surgical procedure or transaction with us. A deposit may be required to be paid prior to a consultation or procedure.

If an emergency appointment is required during working hours and no appointment times are available, an additional charge will be applied to the consultation fee.

New clients registering with the practice will be asked for a deposit prior to their first appointment. This deposit will be deducted from the first consultation/procedure.

It will be non-refundable if the client does not turn up to their appointment.

Ashgrove Veterinary Centre Ltd use Vets Now Ltd for all out of hours work and terms and conditions for Vets Now Ltd will be applicable out of hours.

ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES & EXPORT HEALTH CERTIFICATES

We are able to provide Animal Health Certificates (AHC) and Export Health Certificates (EHC).

As this involves a certain amount of preparation prior to issue, a £50 deposit is required. This deposit will be deducted from the cost of the AHC or EHC but will not be refundable if the documentation is no longer required.

METHODS OF PAYMENT

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, discharge of an animal and/or upon collection of drugs/diets. If a direct insurance claim over £250, an insurance excess may be required to be paid as per the clients’ policy. You may settle the account using CASH, a valid CREDIT/DEBIT CARD (except American Express) or Apple Pay. Payments can be made over the telephone using a valid Credit/Debit card or by bank transfer (please phone for our bank details). A web pay link can also be supplied via email or text. Any outstanding balances will be invoiced to the client and payment will be due on receipt.

INABILITY TO PAY

If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff.

HAPPY PET CLUB

If the Happy Pet Club monthly preventative care plan is cancelled by the client after receiving goods/treatments, you may still be charged for the items received. Please contact reception before cancelling the Happy Pet Club monthly plan to check if monies will be due.

SECOND OPINIONS AND REFERRALS

We are happy to facilitate any request for a referral or second opinion. A referral may be for a diagnosis, procedure and/or possible treatment, after which the case is returned to the referring veterinary surgeon, whereas a second opinion is for the purpose of seeking the views of another veterinary surgeon. We are always happy to offer a second opinion within the practice for more challenging cases. For second opinions, we will require you to contact your current veterinary surgeon to enable us to access your pet’s clinical records.

COMPLAINTS

We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Ashgrove Vets. However, if you feel there is something you are unhappy about, we would be more than happy to discuss the matter with you. Please contact the Group Manager by email to office@ashgrovevets.co.uk or in writing to either the Belmont Road or Peterculter surgery. Your confidentiality is assured.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Client data, processed by this practice is held under the rules laid down by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and its attendant updates, including those coming into force in May 2018. This legislation protects your privacy and ensures that your personal information is held both fairly and lawfully.

Our Commitment to our Clients:

The practice is committed to ensuring that we comply with not only the letter of the law as laid down in the DPA but also with the spirit of that legislation. Only information required by us to ensure the health and wellbeing of your animals will be processed and retained only then, for as long as absolutely necessary. None of the information held by us will be sold, given or otherwise shared with anyone not directly involved with the wellbeing of your animal without your prior consent or in response to a lawful request by a legally empowered body. If you wish to see your personal data held by the practice, then you have a legal right to request that data, and we are obliged to respond as soon as is reasonable and we will endeavour to do so within two working days. You also have the right to withdraw consent to the processing, the right to rectification or erasure, the right to data portability and the right to restrict processing Why we hold data about you: · To ensure that our clinicians can reach you quickly in an emergency.

Why we hold data about you: 

• To ensure that our clinicians can reach you quickly in an emergency.
• To send information about the services we offer to maintain your animal’s health.
• To reach out to you if we consider that there is a threat your animals’ wellbeing.
• To help provide the healthcare that you would expect of us.

There may be circumstances where your personal data may be shared with third parties, these are:

• Pet insurance companies in order to submit an insurance claim for your pet.
• Other veterinary practices in order to transfer your pet records for referral, second opinion or if you move to another practice
• Debt collection agencies in order to recover a debt.

All practice data is processed and held by us in a secure manner and regular audits are undertaken to ensure confidentiality. Please contact the Group Manager if you have any questions about our practices Data Protection Policy.

The Information Commissioners Office deals with all matters of data protection and complaints – www.ico.org.uk