Terms & Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions
Thank you for entrusting your pet’s care to the team at The Avenues Vet Centre.
We are committed to providing the highest standards of care to all our patients and to communicate fully with you at all times. The following document details our Practice Terms and Conditions. Please ask if further explanation or clarification is necessary.
Consulting Times
Consulting times are by appointment only at both surgeries.
Hours of consultation are;
Rutherglen Mon – Fri 9am – 1130am 2pm – 630pm
Saturday 9am – 1130am
Mount Florida Mon – Fri 930am – 1130am 430pm – 630pm ( except Thursday 4-6pm)
Saturday 9am – 11am
In the event of a sudden illness or injury out with these consulting hours we will always see your pet.
Please call our receptionists to make an appointment. If you would like to see a specific veterinary surgeon please make this clear at the time of your call. Case continuity is important to us and for your pet’s treatment.
Fees and Payment Terms
All fees, diets, and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate.
Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a patient’s case and according to the drugs, materials and consumables used. Details of our current fee list are available on request and a detailed invoice will be provided for every consultation, procedure or transaction.
Payment is requested in full at the time of any consultation, collection of medication or discharge of your pet following admission for a procedure. We are unable to dispense medication or diets unless it has been paid for at the time of collection. We will accept cash, cheque, credit or debit cards.
We do not offer any form of payment plan. Please address any queries you have to a member of staff.
Should an account not be settled at the time , a reminder will be sent. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent administrative charges will be incurred. After due notice, unpaid accounts will be referred to a debt collection agency and further charges such as for correspondence, phone calls, production of reports will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collection of the debt.
Any cheque or credit / debit card transaction not honoured or any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the account being restored to the original sum with further charges added to cover administrative and bank charges.
Emergency treatment to alleviate a pet’s suffering will always be administered irrespective of ability to pay.
Estimates
We will always be happy to provide estimates for the costs involved for a course of treatment. Please be aware that due to the unpredictable nature of clinical work and individual variation in response to treatment, initial estimates may change. We will endeavour to keep you informed of updated costs as your pet’s treatment progresses.
Dispensing of medication
Prescriptions are available from this surgery. You may obtain Prescription Only Medications
( POM V’s) from this surgery or request a written prescription and obtain the medicines from another veterinary surgery or a pharmacy; the prescription will be issued subject to a fee. You will then be responsible for sourcing the medication from a suitable supplier.
It is the general policy of this practice to re – examine an animal on long term medication at least every 6 months however in more complicated or unstable cases re examinations will be more frequent depending on the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon.
Referrals and second Opinions
We are happy to see a pet to offer a second opinion and will request full clinical history from the previous vet ahead of the appointment.
We are fortunate in Central Scotland to have access to several centres of excellence within reasonable distance. We will be happy to offer referrals as appropriate to patient and client need.
Pet Health Insurance
The Avenues Vet Centre strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accident. Please be aware we do not offer direct insurance claims – these are only processed with consent of senior management. It is your responsibility to settle your account and re claim the fees from your insurance company. The contract is between yourselves and your insurance provider.
Out of Hours Service
Out with our normal working hours emergencies are seen at Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital Out of Hours Service. Please call our surgery number as usual ( 0141 643 0404 / 0141 649 5351) – you will hear a recorded message with contact details of our Out of Hours Provider. Hospitalised high dependency cases will need to be transferred to the Small Animal Hospital and returned to our care when the surgery re opens. Please note it is your responsibility to arrange transport to the appropriate premises.
Ownership of Records
Case records, radiographs, ultrasound scans etc are the property of The Avenues Vet Centre Ltd and will be retained by The Avenues Vet Centre Ltd.
We do not share client or pet information with third parties with the exception of;
Insurance Companies – we will share client and pet information and full clinical history when requested by your insurance company subject to your permission
Veterinary Surgeons taking over a case – at request of a client we will provide client and pet details as well as full clinical history
Microchip Companies – we share client and pet information when registering microchips sold at The Avenues Vet Centre
Anonymous information is also shared with SAVSNET for education research by a team at Liverpool University.
Complaints and Standards
We hope that you never feel the need to complain about the standard of service received at The Avenues Vet Centre. We welcome feedback and comments on our service which we can use to improve our services. However if you feel the service you have received has not met the high standards expected of a veterinary practice then please ask to speak to one of the practice owners – Nicola Armstrong BVMS MRCVS or Ronan McConville BVMS MRCVS.
Staff
We will not tolerate any abusive or aggressive behaviour towards any of our staff.
