'Pets will be suffering because their owners can't afford the price of treatment'

Veterinary staff claim independent vets and practitioners are being “bullied” by larger firms not to tell owners the cost of medications and treatments for their pets.

It comes as a watchdog found prices have risen at almost twice the rate of inflation, sparking fresh calls for greater transparency across the £6.3bn industry.

For owner Alex Cunningham, the cost of keeping two dogs healthy and insured is going up.

He told STV News: “I’m a pensioner now – I get it, I still pay for it, but I get it a bit cheaper. If you’re a responsible dog owner, as I say, to me you’ve got to have it.

“But I’ve been so lucky with these two dogs – not really had any treatment with them apart from their basic vaccinations, flea and worming treatment.”

Registered veterinary nurse Jade Sherry runs a clinic twice a week and carries out house calls.

She says prices have become “ridiculous” and warns that pet owners are being priced out of care.

She said: “Clients are frustrated, they are upset. The mark-ups compared to what we are buying the drugs for are dramatically expensive.

“It’s getting to the point where owners cannot afford to treat their pets anymore. Unfortunately, I think some pets will be suffering at home because they don’t have the money to do it.”

She said nurses are often “the bearer of bad news”.

“It’s a shame – it’s not me or my colleagues who are making the decisions, but it seems we bear the brunt of it.

“We seem to get this (reputation) that we’re only in it for the money. I can tell you we don’t get paid well as a nurse, significantly lower compared to a ‘human’ nurse. But we came in because we love animals, and now we’re being tarred by this brush.

“A lot of people think a lot of the vets just now are being complicit, but it’s just not the case at all. All the big corporations have warned their employees not to speak or they will risk losing their jobs.

“I refuse to be bullied into not speaking for what is right.”

The UK’s competition watchdog has proposed sweeping changes to address issues of transparency and competition within the veterinary market.

Pet owners 'struggling to afford' rising treatment prices — Pet owners ‘struggling to afford’ rising treatment prices

The investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that pet owners are often poorly informed, with no effective way of comparing vet prices when they get a pet or move areas. Furthermore, owners are often not given estimates for courses of treatment that can run into thousands of pounds.

A key finding was that pet owners may be paying twice as much for commonly prescribed medicines from vet practices that they could buy online, amounting to hundreds of pounds extra.

The CMA also noted that the current system regulates vet professionals but not vet businesses, despite the majority of practices being part of a large corporate group, where owners pay 16.6% more on average than at independent vets.

To address these issues, the CMA has set out 21 proposed changes. Vets could be forced to publish price lists and tell pet owners if it is cheaper to buy medicines online.

Additionally, they may be required to automatically provide a written prescription for frequently needed medicine, enabling people to buy elsewhere. They could also be required to cap the price of providing prescriptions at £16, under the proposals.

The CMA said its proposals would be good for vets who sometimes face abuse from frustrated customers.

‘Pet owners are often left in the dark’

CMA panel inquiry chair Martin Coleman STV News

Inquiry chairman Martin Coleman said pet owners could be paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds more per year for treatment.

He said: “Pet owners are often left in the dark, not knowing whether their practice is independent or part of a chain or what a fair price looks like.

“When they are getting more expensive treatments, pet owners are often not told upfront that they can very often buy treatment at half what the vet surgery charges. “And they do not always feel confident asking for a prescription or buying medicine online – even when it could save them hundreds of pounds.

Key Points

The Competition and Markets Authority has outlined 21 sweeping reforms to improve transparency and competition in the £6.3bn UK veterinary market
Vet businesses would be required to publish full price lists and disclose ownership structures
Vets would need to offer written prescriptions automatically for frequently needed medicines, with a price cap of £16
The CMA found the current system outdated, regulating only individual professionals
Prices at large vet groups are 16.6% higher on average than independents

“We want to introduce measures to change that – they need to know the price difference.

“We think it will have a quick impact in enabling pet owners to make choices that best suit them, their pet, and their pocket. Having a competitive market is important for animal welfare.

“A number of the larger vet businesses are not being open about who owns the practices around the country on their premises and websites.

Sue Davis, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the CMA’s proposals “should be implemented as soon as possible to restore consumer confidence in vet services.”

“We are proposing to make an order requiring this. They might consider, ‘why not be open and transparent now?'”

“It’s clear that the regulation of this market has become outdated, to the detriment of both pet owners and vet practices,” she added.

CVS Group, which runs about 500 vet practices in the UK, said it welcomed the “certainty” the CMA’s plans bring, but that it does not believe all its proposals are justified.

Vets should publish prices and cap medicine costs, watchdog says Adobe Stock

The company said in a statement: “Whilst we do not believe that all of these remedies are fully justified, we will be working with the CMA to refine the remedies package to ensure it is workable and deliverable and have plans in place to implement them, including joint branding of our practices and the publishing of standardised price lists.”

There are now to be more transparent about the prices they’re charging and upfront about what the cost of the medicines is.

British Veterinary Association President Dr Rob Williams said: “At first glance, there’s lots of positives in the CMA’s provisional decision that both vets and pet owners will welcome, including greater transparency of pricing and practice ownership; reform of the outdated regulatory framework; and support for our calls for regulation of vet businesses.

“The CMA also recognises that vets and vet teams are highly professional, and ‘work hard, act ethically, and put animal welfare first’.

“However, we do have concerns that some of the measures outlined will impact how services are delivered.

“In particular, we need clarity on the proposed introduction of comprehensive price lists, because how vet care is delivered is varied and complex and unless the CMA gets this right, it could end up creating greater confusion for consumers, which in turn could have a negative impact on animal welfare.”

The regulator has opened a consultation into its provisional findings, with interested parties given the chance to respond before a final decision is published in March next year.