Consultations
By appointment; please ring 01707 272772. We look forward to seeing you and your pet. Suddenly your pet is sick and if the only thing you ever have been to the vets for is an annual vaccination or dental checks, it can be daunting. See below for what we do during a typical consultation to find out the possible causes for an illness.
House Calls
It is possible for us to visit your pet at home, although your pet will not have access to all the aids available in the surgery. With some illnesses, diagnosis and treatment is best carried out at the surgery where full veterinary facilities are available to help the investigation. Please note: it greatly facilitates the arrangements of house call if you could telephone the surgery before 10.00am if you feel that a home visit is necessary. An additional fee is made which reflect the time that these calls take us.
How to Make the Best of a Veterinary Consultation
The following page is aimed to help you understand how we will conduct a veterinary examination and how you can help us to help you and your pet to make the most of the consultation by giving you some insight into the choices and decisions you and your vet will need to consider.
Let's Talk (or in vetspeak: the History)
Most authorities in veterinary medicine agreed that 80% of the information your vet needs to make a diagnosis is derived from what we call in vet speak the history ( that is what you folks, are telling us happens to your pet!).
I often use a typical opening line during consultations such as "How can I help Thumper today?" to start the ball rolling.
It is often worthwhile to do some homework prior to your consultation with the veterinary surgeon! You will be able to easily disclose all the relevant facts as the vet takes the history.
- What is the main problem concerning you about your pet?
- What did you first notice and when?
- Have you noticed any other signs since?
- How have these signs changed with time?
- Has the pet had any similar previous problems?
- What have its appetite, thirst, urination and stools been like recently?
- How has the pet mental status, alertness change?
- Have you treated your pet with anything for the problem?
- Is it on medication for anything else? Has it had any recent flea or worm treatments?
There, it's not that difficult - common sense really.
Getting Physical (vetspeak: the Clinical Examination)
The only way a vet can tell if the pet is distressed, uncomfortable or abnormal is with a thorough hands on examination. I often use a systematic approach to the clinical examination starting at the nose and not stopping until every parts and orifices have been palpated and poked on the way to the tail. It can be intriguing to see a vet doing a detailed physical examination but pets can't talk and the more restrained clinical examinations of our medical colleagues is not adapted for pets (although I have long suspected that some owners actually expect vets to have some mysterious X-file type psychic telepathic communication with their pets, probably more so since the apparition of heavily edited veterinary programs on television).
The Educated Guess (vetspeak: the Differential Diagnosis)
At this stage a specific diagnosis can be sometimes made and a specific treatment recommended. This is not always the case. Even with a good history and thorough clinical examination often all the veterinary surgeon can do is narrow down what's happening to a list of possible problems - a differential diagnosis. In essence the vet is making an educated guess based on a lot of training, expertise and experience.
It may happen that your vet does not find any physical abnormalities despite a thorough physical examination. it is my experience that many owner will than feel ill at ease and I am likely to hear "I'm really sorry to have troubled you but Thumper was not quite right this morning" usually said in such a way that its sound like they expect the vet to fall down laughing and tell them to go away and not be so silly.
If there is one thing that my thirteen years in practice have taught me is that some owners will be able to pick up signs of problems in their pet long before a clinical examination may confirm their suspicions. Simply because they live with their pets and know what is their normal state in a way the vet never will. If nothing can be found then reassurance can be given but I still like to tell owners that they may be right and that it is very important that they should come back if they still feel all is not right.
Decisions (vetspeak: Laboratory Tests or Empirical Treatment)
At this stage James Herriot or the Telly Vet would tell you what to do to restore the patient to is natural good health and fees are never discussed. In a modern practice you will be offered a choice of either
- undertake further diagnostic and laboratory tests to achieve a definitive diagnosis
- or try a simple treatment based on the most likely diagnosis and reassess thumper after a period of time.
Deciding which treatment option and why maybe among the most difficult choices an owner has to make. A good vet will help you to make the right decision for you and your pet by helping you to make an informed choice. We may consider to choose empirical treatment for example if though unsure of the specific cause of the illness the vet knows that the pet is not too ill or distressed and a simple less expensive treatment to alleviate the signs is justifiable. Immediate investigation and tests is obviously the approach of choice if your pet is severely ill, in severe pain or if the problem has been ongoing for some time prior to presentation.
Cost estimates will obviously dramatically differ between the two options. Palliative, symptom based treatment will be significantly cheaper than an in depth investigation to achieve a definitive diagnosis. A good vet will provide you with an estimate of the cost of the investigation and possible treatment. Sometimes it is the owner which is unprepared to pay the estimated cost and the cheaper option needs to be tried or maybe the owner does not want to subject their pet to a major investigation without first trying a simple treatment.
It Takes Two to Tango (vetspeak: Good Communication)
Sometimes there are not one right answers but choices. You have to make an informed decision based on your understanding of the problem bearing in mind the age, quality of life and temperament of your pet. Cost and other family members feelings often also need to be considered.
We are there to give you guidance and to help you make the right decision. Take your time, do you feel that you fully understand what we told you about the problem and the way it is going to be dealt with? If not keep asking questions until you do. We don't mind - honest. Ask for clear estimates of costs. Confirm what will and wont be done without getting your consent first. Please tell the vet if you're unsure about anything. Explaining things is part of the job.
Fee Policy
Payment is required upon completion of your consultation or on collection of your pet following hospitalisation. An itemised invoice is supplied detailing the services and treatments that have been provided. (Our staff will be happy to discuss the costs further if you require.)
Payment may be made in cash, by cheque (supported by a valid cheque card) or by popular debit & credit cards.
We strongly advise owners to insure their pets against veterinary costs. If you would like some further information please ask a member of our staff. Prearranged direct insurance claims require immediate payment of the policy excess and submission of the appropriate documentation upon collection of your pet.
A Final Thought
Our veterinary small animal practice, while run by professionals, wishes you to be in first name term with us for I believe that it does ultimately benefit both you and your pet. Communication is a two ways thing, the more approachable we are the more likely for an anxious owner to volunteer information so we can treat our patients to the best of our abilities.
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