Terms and Conditions
​
Barnfield House Veterinary Centre is part of the Medivet Group
Medivet Group Ltd, 4 Mowat Industrial Estate, Sandown Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 7UY.
​
Responsible Pet Ownership, Medivet, and You
Just like you, Medivet believes in the principle of responsible pet ownership and the benefits of preventative healthcare. This includes regular appropriate vaccinations and regular flea and worm control for dogs, cats and rabbits. Medivet recommends microchipping as the best permanent means of identification for your pet.
​
In order to help you budget for your pet’s routine healthcare needs, and to also make the unexpected bills more manageable, we’re pleased to offer the Medivet Healthcare Plan. Please ask your local Medivet practice for more details.
​
Pet Health Insurance
Animals can become ill or get injured without warning. Medivet strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected problems and the bills that can go with these. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of staff at your local Medivet practice.
Please be aware that, unless we specifically arrange otherwise in writing, it is your responsibility to settle your account with us and then reclaim the fees from your insurance company. Please note that the Medivet Healthcare Plan is not an insurance policy.
​
Fees
Sadly, there is no National Health Service (NHS) for pets and Medivet relies on fee income to invest in constantly improving the standards of our facilities, equipment and staff to benefit our patients and clients.
​
Please ensure all fees are paid at the time of treatment as this helps to keep the level of fees as low as possible for all clients.
​
All professional fees, pet shop and medicine charges are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill level required for a case as well as medicines, materials, laboratory tests, consumables and diets used. Fee levels will also have a contribution towards general overhead costs. Itemised fees are always available for every treatment. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet even if your pet is brought to us on your behalf by an agent, for example a relative or friend.
​
No medicines or pet shop items can be dispensed without payment being received at the time the items are collected. This does not include items dispensed as part of the Medivet Healthcare Plan, which are subject to the terms and conditions of the plan.
​
The veterinary surgeons and staff will be pleased to discuss likely costs at any time – please don't hesitate to ask.
​
Methods of payment
Accounts are due for settlement at our discretion at the end of the consultation or treatment, the discharge of your pet, or upon collection of medicines and other pet requisites. You may settle the account using cash or a credit/debit card – we accept Maestro, Cirrus, Solo, Mastercard, Visa, Delta and American Express (American Express is subject to a 2% card fee). In some cases, we accept relevant vouchers that are valid and in date. We usually require, at our discretion, that a deposit of 50% of the estimated costs be paid at the time of admission to our clinic for any procedures or hospitalisation.
​
Estimates of treatment costs
We will provide written estimates as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate as it is not always possible to predict how a pet’s illness will progress, and often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course. We will try to contact you on the telephone numbers you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to exceed the estimated costs. If, however, you are not contactable, we will treat your pet as is necessary for the prevention of pain and/or suffering.
​
Settlement terms
Should an account not be settled within seven days, then a reminder will be sent. This will include an additional accounting fee in respect of the administrative costs incurred. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent, further charges will be incurred. These however, may be deducted at Medivet’s sole discretion if payment is made promptly. After due notice to you, the client, overdue accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt (these include, but are not limited to, the production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits, etc.).
​
Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured, and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum, with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administration costs together with interest at base rate + 3.5% PA on the principal sum.
​
All missed appointments will be charged for unless reasonable notice of cancellation is given. It is at Medivet’s sole discretion not to charge for a missed appointment.
​
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 member of staff. Please note that instalment payments or part-payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of an authorised partner after appropriate checks have been made and you will need to sign an acknowledgement of debt. The granting of permission for instalment payments rather than full payment at the time of treatment is at Medivet’s absolute discretion.
​
Ownership of records
Case records including radiographs, clinical notes, laboratory records and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, Medivet. Part of the fees charged will be for interpretation of such radiographs or laboratory reports. A summary of the history will be passed on to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case. Should you wish to obtain a copy of the case records or radiographs, Medivet will provide these on payment of an appropriate fee.
​
Out-of-hours Policy
Medivet reserves the right to contact other practices to provide out-of-hours emergency and night care in areas where we do not have a Medivet 24-hour practice. This may mean sharing the out of hours’ duties with other vets in the area or utilising a third party provider to provide our statutory out-of-hours’ provision. Please ask at reception for the details of the emergency and night cover specific to your clinic.
​
Prescription Policy
Prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, category V, (POM-Vs) from your veterinary surgeon OR ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may prescribe POM-Vs only for animals under his or her care. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary. You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medicine that may be prescribed for your animal. The general policy of this practice is to re-assess every three months any animal that requires repeat prescriptions, but this frequency may increase or decrease depending on individual circumstances and the opinion of the veterinary surgeon. The standard charge for a re-examination for such purposes is the prevailing price of a consultation fee. There is a charge for providing prescriptions. Please ask a member of staff for the current prescription fee.
​
In-patient care
Level of inpatient care provided during normal practice opening hours
Our staff will provide appropriate and adequate in-patient care for your pet, as decided and instructed by the Veterinary surgeon on duty. This care includes being housed in a comfortable environment, monitored and treated commensurate with your pet’s condition, by persons with the requisite level of knowledge and expertise. During normal practice opening hours a member of staff will be present on the practice site at all times and will be available to provide in-patient care to your pet.
​
Level of inpatient care provided outside of normal practice opening hours
If such a centre is available patients that require overnight care and hospitalisation will be transferred, by either the practice or by the owner, to a dedicated out of hours provider. If such a centre is not available the Veterinary surgeon will inform the client of the procedure for the continuous care of your pet, this may include your pet being hospitalised without continuous supervision. The Veterinary surgeon will discuss the available options with the client, this discussion will include the frequency of in-patient checks.
​
Referrals and second opinions
The Veterinary surgeon will facilitate a client’s request for a referral or second opinion. A referral may be for a diagnosis, procedure and/or possible treatment, after which the case is returned to the referring veterinary surgeon, whereas a second opinion is only for the purpose of seeking the views of another veterinary surgeon.
​
When will we refer?
Veterinary surgeons will recognise when a case or a treatment option is outside their area of competence and will be prepared to refer it to a colleague within the Medivet group, or to an external organisation or institution, whom they are satisfied is competent to carry out the investigations or treatment involved.
​
The veterinary surgeon will make a referral appropriate to the case. When considering what is appropriate the veterinary surgeon will consider all relevant factors. These might include the ability and experience of the referral veterinary surgeon, the location of the service, the urgency of treatment and the circumstances of the owner, including the availability and any limitations of insurance.
​
In cases where the client does not accept the veterinary surgeon’s advice regarding referral and would instead prefer referral to a colleague, organisation or institution of which the referring veterinary surgeon has insufficient knowledge to determine appropriateness, they may need to advise their client accordingly. In some such cases, the veterinary surgeon may consider that they cannot be party to such a referral relationship.
​
Both the referring veterinary surgeon and the referral veterinary surgeon will ensure that the client has an understanding of the likely cost arising from the referral.
​
General
Medivet may contact you either by letter, phone, text or electronic means in order to advise you of outstanding accounts, reminders of your pet’s preventative healthcare treatments, and any marketing initiatives that might be of benefit to you or your pet. Please inform us if you wish to modify how we may contact you. Please be aware that choosing to have no contact from us at all will remove the ability of the practice to send vaccination reminders.
​
Reminders are provided as a complimentary service to our clients. Medivet accepts no liability for any loss, damages or costs which may result from the failure of a client to receive any reminder.
​
No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one of the group’s partners. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with Medivet, has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.
Residual material or isolates from specimens submitted for diagnostic testing may be retained for laboratory quality assurance, research and development purposes.
​
We participate in nationwide projects aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of pets. From time to time anonymised clinical pet data is pooled and analysed to identify risk factors, assess and compare different treatment protocols and improve early diagnosis of disease. This important research work is undertaken with the Royal Veterinary College and other participating practices, and other university and charity organisations.
​
All data collection, storage and usage is anonymised and fully compliant with relevant data protection regulations.
Please tell a member of practice staff if you do not wish to participate.
​
Enquiries and subscription
Please direct any enquiries to our support centre here.
Alternatively, please write to us at:
Medivet Group Limited
First Floor, Hyde
38 Clarendon Road Watford
WD17 1HZ
​
Should you wish to amend or cease any email correspondence from us, we offer a one-click unsubscribe option. Alternatively, please speak to your practice about preferences and your options.
​
Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Please ask in practice for the latest version.
​
​