Jurassic Vets Limited

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS Upated 05/01/2022

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to Jurassic Vets Ltd. This  document details our practice terms and conditions. Some aspects may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further clarification or explanation if required.

Registration

It is essential for us under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon's Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons to maintain accurate records of our clients and patients. In order to do this, we may periodically ask you to confirm the details we hold. If your details change, please inform us so we may ensure our database is as up to date as possible.

Electronic marketing communications

In keeping with  General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR) regulations you will be asked to provide your consent for all

forms of marketing communication. All electronic marketing communications presented or sent to our clients will only be sent where we have been given clear and specific consent via our consent forms. You will be given the opportunity to opt out of email marketing at the time your email address was collected, and each time an email is sent. If you have not provided consent you will not be contacted until you have given consent. All team members will comply promptly if you withdraw your consent. Consent to electronic marketing communications is recorded along side your pet's medical records and will be updated once we have been informed of your preferences. Those currently on our mailing list are those have who given specific consent to receive such communications and they can withdraw this consent at any time.

Clinical communications including contact from staff members and worming, flea treatment and vaccine reminders are considered essential to our duty to care for your pet and are sent automatically when required. You may withdraw your consent for automatic reminder communications, however, we require a means and consent to be able to contact you directly, such as telephone number, in order to be able to class your pet as being under your care. Should you not wish to give consent for us to contact you, then we cannot retain you as a client of Jurassic Vets Ltd,

Fees

All fees, diets and drugs charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the staff time spent on a case and according to the drugs, materials, consumables, equipment and other items used. Our written fee list is available on request. The price of items and fees may change periodically due to inflation, overhead costs and other factors.

Methods of Payment

Itemised bills can be provided upon request. Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, or at the discharge of your pet, or upon collection of drugs/other items. You may settle your account using: Cash; Credit/Debit card; Maestro,

Solo, MasterCard, VISA, Delta or BACS or Cheque made payable to Jurassic Vets.

Estimates of treatment costs

We provide estimates as to the probable costs of a  course of treatment and are happy to provide these in writing. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate – often a pet’s illness will not follow the expected course, and often the work being carried out is in order to establish a diagnosis, which may allow us to give a more accurate prognosis and estimate of costs thereafter, owners will be kept updated with any changes to estimates. We will provide the details of the price of any medicine stocked or sold on request. Staff members will endeavour to update you on costs as often as possible - this will be at least daily for inpatients and ongoing cases.

Settlement terms

All accounts are to be paid in full at the time of treatment as detailed above. A £25 fee  will be added to any account that is not settled at the time of treatment. After due notice to you, the client, overdue accounts will be subject to our debt collection procedure and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt such as:  professional time, other staff time, postage, court fees, correspondence, court attendance, credit charges, phone calls, etc. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any card payment not honoured, and cash tendered found to be counterfeit will result in the original  account being returned to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs. By using our services, you agree to accept these additional charges should payment not be made at the time of treatment.

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 senior member of staff. It is very important that you raise cost concerns prior to incurring costs, so that we can make an alternative lower-cost plan if necessary and possible.

Pet health insurance

Jurassic Vets strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of staff. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then reclaim fees from your insurance company. Direct claims, where your insurer pays us directly, may be possible for us to accept only on rare occasions with signed pre-agreement forms from selected insurance companies under the specific terms of our Standard Operating Procedure for direct claims. By using our services you agree to pay us without delay should there be any shortfall or refusal by your insurer to pay any or all of the fees due to us.

Consent

Written signed consent for procedures is required in all cases of admission to the hospital and any alterations will be agreed prior to action being taken. In exceptional circumstances where time is critical, such as an emergency admission necessary to protect

a pet's life and prevent suffering, or where a procedure goes beyond that for which written consent was given, we will accept verbal consent to begin treatment pending the completion of a consent form at a later date. Consent is also required for the use of medications in species for which they were not licensed including many medicines used for rabbits, rodents and exotic species. In these species case a consent form will usually be provided to allow you to give consent for the use of off-licence medicines in general, without asking for specific permission for each and every separate medicine. This is required as the majority of veterinary drugs are not licensed for use in small mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians and invertebrates. We must then have your permission to enable us to use drugs which have a proven activity and efficiency despite this lack of licence.

Written consent will also be sought where a drug is to be used off-licence in other species (dogs and cats), usually where your veterinary surgeon recommends using a medicine under the "cascade" system. Staff will explain and discuss these medicines with you prior to administering them so that you may choose to give informed consent.

Prescriptions

Under DTI regulations you may request written prescriptions for your pet’s medications and these will be issued subject to a fee. However, you will be responsible for sourcing these medications from a suitable supplier and should bear in mind that delay

in the start of treatment may not be in the best interests of the welfare of your pet. Veterinary prescriptions are not covered by NHS charges and you will have to pay any supplier separately for these drugs, the costs of which will be at their market rate. In

circumstances where it is essential to begin treatment immediately then written prescriptions will not be offered. This is most likely to be in the case of injectable medications where a delay would be unacceptable. Written prescriptions will not be issued

for similar drugs used in anaesthesia or emergency situations.

Complaints and Standards

Jurassic Vets prides itself on offering a high standard of both clinical and customer service. We hope you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Jurassic Vets. However, if you wish to raise a complaint please direct your comments in the first instance to the Practice Manager, who will guide you through our complaint's procedure. Please see our Feedback page for more information on our feedback and complaints process.

Clinical records

Your pet’s clinical records, including radiographs, ultrasound scan records and laboratory test reports remain the property of Jurassic Vets and will be kept under the terms of the General Data Protection Regulations 2018. You are entitled to see the records on request and if necessary, an appropriate appointment to view them will be made. Your pet’s records will be sent to another veterinary surgeon on request from them only once we have obtained your verbal consent to do so. If you require a copy for your personal use, a charge may be made at the rate for administrative work.

Ownership of radiographs and similar records

The care given to your pet may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking radiographs or performing

ultrasound scans. Though we make a charge for carrying out these examinations and  interpreting their results, ownership of the resulting record, (for example a radiograph) remains with the practice.

Return of unused drugs

We are happy to accept unused medications back into the  practice for disposal only. As precscription drugs which have left the premises are no longer fit for resale, no refund can be given. Drugs purchased from any other supplier will not be accepted for disposal. We will still rectify any mistake we have made at no charge to the client.

Repeat examinations

It is necessary both for the welfare of your pet and to meet legal obligations for this practice to re-examine animals receiving long term medications. The  standard interval for medication checks is 3 months; this initially may be less but at no time will be longer than 6 months. The repeat examination fee will be charged for that consultation.

Important Note

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one the directors. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.