Your Pets, Our Priority
Understanding Our Terms and Conditions of Business
The health and welfare of your animal is our prime concern and responsibility. Our practice policies have been developed to care for your pet whilst complying with the Codes of Practice determined by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Health and Safety Executive, Environmental Health Departments and the Financial Services Authority.
Surgery Premises
The Lodge Vets Ltd has two sites. The main surgery is at:
64 Coleshill Road, Hodge Hill, Birmingham B36 8AB: 0121 783 2327 or 0121 783 7158: info@lodgevet.co.uk
The branch surgery is at:
1 Coventry Road, Coleshill, B46 3BB: 01675 467266: info@lodgevet.co.uk
Surgery Hours
The Hodge Hill Surgery is open between 8.30am and 6pm, Monday to Friday and between 9am and 12.30pm on Saturdays. Consulting times are: 9am-1pm and 2pm to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12.30pm on Saturday. An allocated veterinary surgeon will be operating daily (emergency only a weekends)
The Coleshill Surgery is open between 9.30am and 5pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and Tuesday between 9:30am and 12:30pm All surgical, investigative and hospitalisation procedures and all Export or Pet Travel Appointments will be carried out at the Hodge Hill Surgery.
Fees and Payment
There is no NHS for pets, so veterinary practices are providing private health care, relying entirely upon the fees you pay to fund the services, drugs, facilities and staff expertise which allows us to give the best possible care for your pets. We keep our fees as reasonable as possible whilst reflecting the investment we make in caring for your pet. You will be charged a consultation fee or follow up consultation fee each time your pet is seen, except for routine post operative check ups. The Practice offers Fixed Price Neutering and Vaccinations. All other procedures are priced individually to meet the needs of the patient and an estimate can be provided and recorded in the clinical records prior to any work being carried out. We try to provide clients with as accurate an estimate of cost as possible before treatment and will keep you up to date with any changes in your pet’s condition which might affect the cost as we go along. Where finance is a concern, we ask that you discuss this with your vet at the earliest opportunity.
Payment is expected at the time of treatment. We accept cash, debit cards, MasterCard or Visa. Cheque payments are by prior agreement and only following discussion with a practice Partner.
Unpaid accounts will be followed up within 28 days. Failure to make payment will result in the account being referred to the County Court for recovery. Any additional fees incurred will be added to the account and those charges will be added to, and payable with, the invoice debt.
The Lodge Vets reserves the right to refuse any treatment, beyond emergency first aid, to animals belonging to clients with outstanding accounts.
Insurance Claims
We strongly recommend pet insurance. Unexpected accidents and illness can happen to all pets and this ensures that you can choose to always have the best care for your pet without compromise or worries over cost. Staff at our surgeries can help you with any queries you may have. Insurance claim forms/detail slips should be signed by the policy holder and handed in at reception. The practice will action and submit any claim requests received on behalf the client within 7-10 working days.
Claim forms can be completed by the practice and returned to the client upon request should they wish to submit the claims themselves.
The practice does not routinely do direct claims for clients, any exceptions to this must be authorised by one of the practice partners.
Emergency Care/Out of Hours
The Practice offers 24hr emergency care to our patients. Once the surgery is closed, the Out of Hours Service is provided by The Willows Veterinary Centre at Highlands Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4NH. The Willows will charge an initial emergency consultation fee of £215 before 11pm and £250 after 11pm. In the event of an emergency, please telephone the Practice in the first instance on 0121 783 2327 or 0121 783 7158. You will either be directed to come to the Practice or provided with the contact information for the Out of Hours Team at The Willows. Please do not attend the Practice without telephoning as this may lead to a delay in appropriate staff and treatment being available. If your pet is hospitalised during normal working hours, he/she will remain at the Practice and not be transferred to The Willows, except in the cases of urgent referral or the need for intensive care.
Care of In-patients
If your pet is hospitalised, whether as a surgical or medical patient, pre- or post-operatively, or in an emergency, the level of care that they receive will be tailored to their individual needs. All patients that are hospitalised are checked regularly between the hours of 8am and 8pm, in accordance with their individual requirements. Overnight patients are checked at 9pm, 11pm, and 7am, and at any additional times that are required by their prescribed treatment plan. Our overnight nursing staff are all trained to provide high standards of care, patient monitoring and administration of required medications prescribed by the Veterinary Surgeon. A Veterinary Surgeon is available for further advice and assistance if there are any concerns about a patient’s progress but is not permanently on site. Please do not hesitate to contact the surgery or speak to the Veterinary Surgeon during the admission process if you have any further questions regarding your pet’s care.
Ownership of Records
All case records, diagnostic test results and interpretation remain the property of The Lodge Veterinary Centre. You are entitled to receive a copy of your pet’s medical records on request.
Client Data
The practice operates controls on personal details and client records in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations. Client information is obtained to identify ownership of a pet and to identify clinical records accurately. This data is held on a secure database. Data is held for as long as you are an active client and thereafter for 7yrs for accounting and clinical records, or as long as your pet is alive. Client information is only shared with clients’ permission: to other veterinary practices who provide care to your pets; to insurance companies in relation to processing of insurance claims; to laboratories for the processing of diagnostic tests; to microchip databases to register/check ownership of a pet; to poisons enquiry services in the event of a suspected toxicity: to drug companies in relation to suspected adverse reactions; to County or Small Claims Court to recover unpaid fees; or with our Professional and Indemnity Insurers and Governing Body in relation to any complaint or claim made against us. You have the right to withdraw your consent for, or to restrict the use of your data. However, you may find that this affects such services as insurance claims processing or referral to specialist practices. The Practice does not participate in electronic marketing. Annual Vaccination Reminders are sent via email or text or letter. Please notify the Practice if you do not wish to receive a reminder when your pet’s vaccination is due.
Prescription and Dispensing Policy
Medication prescribed by our veterinary surgeons is available to be dispensed directly from our surgeries at the time of treatment in accordance with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Medicines Directorate guidelines. All Prescription Only Medication (POM-V) is dispensed under the authority of the veterinary surgeon treating your pet. Prices (inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate) of any medication prescribed for your pet are available upon request.
Written prescriptions for veterinary medicines are available upon request. These can only be authorised by our veterinary surgeons and are restricted to animals under their care. The fee for this service of £22.85, including VAT per item, covers the professional service of your vet in authorising appropriate medication, dosage advice and maintaining the required accurate pharmacy records for your pet. A prescription may not be appropriate if your pet is an in-patient or if immediate treatment is necessary. One prescription can only apply to one pet.
Our repeat prescription service for pets on long term medication allows you to re-order medication or written prescriptions over the phone. In compliance with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons best practice guidelines we do insist that your pet is examined by your vet at least every six months (or more frequently should the recommendation for the use of a specific medication require it) and that any recommended diagnostic tests associated with monitoring the efficacy and/or side effects of the drug are completed. We will advise you when these are due. A re-examination fee for repeat prescriptions is currently £49.00 including VAT. Recent guidance from the RCVS also requests that physical examination by a vet is needed when prescribing anti parasite treatment such as prescription flea and worm treatment.
Medication posted to clients will be subject to a post & packing charge.
Second Opinion or Referral
As a pet owner you are entitled to request a second opinion or referral to a specialist centre, or this may be recommended by one of our vets if your pet requires more advanced investigation or care. If you wish to have a second opinion you can request to see a different vet at this Practice or arrange to see a different Practice. You will need to authorise your medical records to be released to the second opinion Practice and this will usually be done by email. You are entitled to return to this Practice after your second opinion, should you wish to. If you are another Practice’s client requesting a second opinion here, you will need to have authorised your pet’s medical records to come to us before we can offer an appointment. The history will be reviewed by one of the Partners to determine if we are best placed to assist you (sometimes a referral centre would be a more logical choice). An appointment would then be offered with one of the senior vets. Referral to specialist centres would be discussed with you prior to being arranged. The vet who is in charge of your pet’s care will discuss referral options, including costs, locations of specialist centres and the reason for the referral. You will need to give consent for your pet’s records and your contact details to be passed to the referral centre. Once the data has been transferred, the referral centre will usually contact you directly to arrange a mutually convenient appointment.
Feedback
Although we will always strive to avoid situations which give rise to complaints, they do sometimes occur. In this situation we aim to be transparent and clear in our communication and resolve the matter fairly, adjust policies and procedures in relation to lessons learnt, if necessary.
Informal feedback
If you would like to provide feedback or have a problem that needs resolving but feel that a formal investigation by a manager is not necessary, we invite you to contact our reception staff either in person or by telephone who will assist you with any concerns or issues.
Formal Complaints
If you have a concern that you feel requires a more detailed investigation and response from us, we ask that you do the following:
- Contact us via email* or in writing **
- Provide as much detail as you can in your complaint, including:
- Your name and contact details.
- Your pet’s name.
- The nature of your complaint.
- What you would like to happen to resolve the complaint.
*All emails should be directed to info@lodgevet.co.uk FAO Practice management team
** letters should be sent FAO Practice Management Team :-
64-66 Coleshill Rd, Hodge Hill, Birmingham, B36 8AB
Once we receive your formal complaint, we will:
- Provide written acknowledgement within three working days.
- Review your complaint and ask you for any further information that we think will be helpful.
- Investigate the issues raised in your complaint.
- Consider your complaint considering any information obtained during our investigation and provide you with a written response within 15 working days of receiving your complaint. In some cases, involving a substantial investigation, or owing to colleague absence it may not be possible to complete our investigations within this period, but we will always keep you informed when this is expected.
- Strive to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.
All formal complaints will be dealt with by the Practice Management Team and the practice partners
Aggression
The Practice will not tolerate verbal or physical aggression from anyone towards staff members or other clients. People exhibiting aggressive or offensive behaviour or language will be asked to leave the premises. Failure to comply will result in the appropriate authorities being contacted.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Please note the Lodge Vets is committed to ensuring that all individuals, including those with disabilities, have equal access to our premises, services, and information. We strive to provide a welcoming and accessible environment for everyone.
Supporting the Environment
At the Lodge we are working hard to ensure we work in an environmentally responsible manner. As a team, we’ve made some small changes which we hope will contribute to reducing our carbon footprint…
- All lights are being systematically replaced by LED.
- Turning lights off in rooms which are not in use.
- Turning appliances off when not in use.
- Recycling of plastic, glass, cardboard and paper.
- Responsible antibiotics prescribing.
- Introduced a suggestion board for staff members to have their say and put forward ideas.
- Laminating patient charts wherever possible, so they can be re-used.
- Sending reminders via email or text rather than letter.
Should you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our main reception who will be happy to help you.