From May 2024

Our commitment to you

• We aim to provide you with a first-class professional service.
• We aim to provide your pet with the highest standards of care and treatment.
• We understand that when your pet is hospitalised, this may be a stressful time for you and we aim to provide a means for you to have effective communication with the hospital during their stay.
• If your pet has been admitted to the hospital, we will provide you with an estimate of costs at the start of treatment. Should there be a change to the treatment plan or estimate, we will keep you informed of changes, and we will seek your agreement to continue with treatment should the costs increase.
• We will endeavour to arrange re-examination appointments at convenient times and dates for you and encourage you to request the same vet/nurse at the time of booking.
• In the sad event of your animal passing away, we can put you in contact with a bereavement counselling service.
• As a condition of registration, or continued registration of your dog with The Kennel Club, we will advise The Kennel Club of the correction of any defect which altered the natural conformation of your dog and / or of any caesarean operation.

Your commitment to us

• Please give us as much notice as possible if you are unable to keep an appointment.
• You are responsible for full settlement of your account. Payment is expected at conclusion of treatment when your animal is discharged from hospital; whether your animal is insured or not (Please see below if your animal is insured). After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be sent to our Central Debt Team and then onto our debt collection agency, incurring a 5% fee of the total balance, should the debt continue beyond 90 days. Further charges may be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt, such as production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits etc.
• You are required to adhere to the hospital deposit payment policies outlined under deposits and cancellation fees below.
• Payment can be taken via cash or most other major debit and credit cards, unfortunately we cannot accept American Express.
• To behave with respect and courtesy toward all of our staff at every point of contact.

Deposits and Cancellation Fees

• Our goal is to provide quality health care to all pets in a timely manner. No-shows, late arrivals, and cancellations impact our overall clinical service provision. Please be aware of our policy regarding appointment deposits and cancellations.
• A deposit of the value of your consultation fee is required at the time of confirming your consultation appointment which is not refundable for missed appointments or cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice.
• A minimum deposit of 50% of the estimate will be required to secure admission appointments for procedures. Procedure deposits are refundable up to 48 hours in advance of the booking. Procedure deposits are not refundable for missed appointments or cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice.
• If you are more than 30 minutes late for your appointment and have not notified us, we may not be able to accommodate you. In this case, the same cancellation fee will apply. We will do our very best to reschedule your service for another time that is convenient to you.
• In the event of a true, unavoidable emergency, all or part of your cancellation fee may be refunded or applied to future services.
• If you no longer require your appointment, please provide more than 48 hours’ notice and a refund can be arranged.

Prescriptions

• Written prescriptions are available on request.
• 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 a Pharmacy.
• Your Veterinary Surgeon is only permitted to prescribe POM Vs 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 hospital is to re-examine a pet that requires repeat prescriptions every three months, but this may vary with individual circumstances.
• The British Veterinary Association Code of Practice on Medicines (2000) states: "Once stock has been dispensed, it should not be accepted back into the dispensary. No returned goods should be offered for resale because there may have been problems with storage conditions beyond the veterinarian’s control."
• This means that we cannot give refunds for returned medications as we are obliged to dispose of them. We are happy to safely dispose of your unused medication if it was purchased from the RVC.

Insurance

• Payment will be expected in full at the time your pet is collected.
• It is important that you contact your insurance company prior to your appointment to establish the level of cover remaining on your policy, any exclusions on your policy and any excess that will not be covered for the condition your animal has. This should be done prior to your appointment.
• Please bring a valid claim form with you to your first appointment. We aim to process claim forms promptly so that insurance companies are able to reimburse you swiftly.

Feedback

• We will always do our best for you and your animals. If you have a concern which cannot be resolved informally through our customer service team, please put your concerns in writing to us at beaumont@rvc.ac.uk
  Our full complaints process is available at https://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-vet/general-practice/about-us/privacy-statement

If you have any queries concerning payments, please do not hesitate to contact us:

The Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital 020 7387 8134 between 8.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Friday

Please note that all telephone calls to and from the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes in order to improve our services.

Attending your appointment will be considered as acceptance of the above.

Data Protection Statement:  The Royal Veterinary College complies with the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our full Privacy Notice can be viewed at https://rvc.uk.com/client-data-use-policy

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