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Financial queries

Settle your bill or find out more about OOH costs

Settling your outstanding balance

If you require to make a payment after your visit to the clinic then please pay online by clicking the link below. If you can’t pay online, you can call our Enquiries Team on 01383 223 902.

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Cost of a trip to Vets Now

Cost varies depending on the level of treatment your pet requires. We will always give you an estimate of costs before treating your pet.

Your vet will discuss and agree on the best treatment plan for you and your pet. Our process is to provide an estimate for the proposed treatment plan in advance of admitting a patient to hospital/clinic, excluding any first aid emergency treatment immediately required. The estimate can be verbal, written or electronic.

All pet owners who require our veterinary team’s help in an out-of-hours emergency are charged a consultation fee and an out-of-hours (OOH) fee. In some clinics, the OOH and consultation fees are combined.

 

Vets Now fees explained

  • Vets Now out of hours (OOH) fee

This fee is for the professional time of the veterinary surgeon and covers your pet’s examination, diagnosis and treatment plan. This will be comparable to the price you pay for a consultation at your own daytime vet. Read more about where your fees go here.

  • Database fee

The minimum database is a panel of tests designed to provide vets and vet nurses with vital diagnostics information. These tests can highlight a whole range of medical problems in a pet, such as internal bleeding or low blood glucose (which may cause neurological symptoms). They also indicate if dehydration is present or if there are issues with the pet’s circulation or kidneys. The minimum database is used in preference to more expensive tests such as full haematology or biochemistry tests, which are only run when the screening process highlights a specific need for them.

In many cases, our clinical staff will run the minimum database tests during the consultation process as they provide such a large amount of useful information and are very cost-effective.

  • Hospitalisation fee

If your pet needs to be hospitalised (kept in overnight or for several hours) a patient care (hospitalisation) fee is charged. This fee is charged in blocks. It reflects the patient’s stability on arrival at our clinic and the level of emergency and critical care they require. The more critically ill a patient, the more they will need one-on-one care, monitoring and support. This is similar to a human in an intensive care unit, where each patient requires a higher level of dedicated care and attention than patients in a general ward.

  • Insurance Administration fee

Admin charge includes the time taken to complete the form along with any additional costs and any follow-up questions from the insurance company to ensure minimal hold-ups.

 

Why does out-of-hours emergency veterinary care cost as much as it does?

Our clinics are fully staffed and fully equipped every night, at weekends and on bank holidays, regardless of the number of cases we see. This means we can be there for pet owners in an emergency when other vets are closed. We also answer emergency calls throughout these periods, ensuring customers and their pets receive the care and support they deserve, at the time they need it most.

Daytime vets who provide their own out-of-hours emergency service (where typically a vet will be on-call, having to return to the practice to respond to a pet emergency) tend to rely on income from their routine general practice appointments to subsidise the cost of running this service. At Vets Now we do not offer routine daytime appointments. In addition, our staff costs are significantly higher than most daytime vets. There are many reasons for this, including the specialist nature of emergency work, higher salaries paid to staff who work unsocial hours, and our ongoing commitment to investing in staff training and development. All of our vets and vet nurses are dedicated to providing customers with value for money. You can find an in-depth analysis of our costs, and where your fees go, in this article.