Terms & Conditions

Leith Vets (Forth Petcare Ltd.) is registered in Scotland with registration number SC758823, the VAT registration number is 442 6176 00. The registered office is 9, Park Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 6JD.

Our Services

The Practice conforms to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Practice Standards and all of our veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses are suitably qualified and are subject to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.

We may need certain information from you to enable us to carry out treatments on your animal and provide you with veterinary services. We will contact you to ask for this information, if you do not provide this information within a reasonable amount of time, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information we will not be liable for any delay in carrying out services or any injury or death caused to an animal as a result.

Our opening times are visible on our website.

Consults are available by appointment.

Consent

As part of the ongoing treatment of the animal, our veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses will recommend treatment plans and courses of action to improve the animals healthcare. Wherever possible we will obtain your consent before undertaking any procedure or treatment and require you to sign and date our consent form (hereinafter referred to as “Consent Form”). The vets and/or vet nurses will discuss possible treatment options before you give consent. In exceptional circumstances, our veterinary staff may need to provide emergency treatment. In the event that emergency treatment is required, practice staff will take all reasonable steps to obtain your prior consent, but you acknowledge and consent that we are authorised to take all such steps as the veterinary staff reasonably believe are necessary to promote the welfare of your animal, and that you will be responsible for the costs incurred in taking such steps, whether or not your consent has been obtained. We will of course provide you with full details of the treatment provided as soon as is reasonably possible.

Second Opinions and Specialist Referrals

Should you feel that you would like a second opinion on your pet’s welfare or condition, please speak to a member of the team. We are happy to arrange a second opinion with either another vet within our practice, or by referral to a specialist.

Prescriptions

Prescriptions are available from Leith Vets. You may obtain prescription only medicines, Category V (hereinafter referred to as “POM-Vs”) from the Practice or ask for a written prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. We can only prescribe POM-Vs for animals under our care that have been recently examined. A prescription may not be appropriate for an in-patient or where immediate treatment is necessary. The practice will advise you about written prescription charges (hereinafter referred to as “Prescription Charges”). Prescription Charges are applied only when you request a written prescription but go elsewhere to have the prescription filled. Animals requiring repeat prescriptions will need to be re-assessed periodically by the veterinary surgeon dealing with the case. The re-examination interval will vary between clinical cases. We require at least two working days notice for any requests for a repeat or written prescription. However, we will always try to process these as quickly as possible. There is a charge for a re-examination, please contact us for further details on this. Unfortunately we are unable to refund or exchange any medication that has left the premises. If you need help in safely disposing of unused medication please ask a member of the team.

Off license medication

In certain circumstances, where no suitable alternative exists, it may be appropriate for our veterinary surgeons to prescribe medication for your pet which has not been licensed for veterinary use. This may include the use of drugs in one animal species which are licensed in another or some human medications which are not available in veterinary form. Use of our services expressly allows for this use following discussion with a veterinary surgeon. When dispensing off licence medication we will ask you to sign a consent form.

Estimates

Estimates are provided verbally either at the time of booking the appointment or during the consultation itself for all surgical and dental procedures. Written estimates are available on request. All estimates provided are only approximate and the final fee could be higher or lower depending on complications during treatment and how the patient responds to the treatment. We will endeavour to contact you as soon as we have reason to believe that the costs could be significantly higher than the estimate provided. Prices for consultations and elective surgical procedures are available on our website.

Home visits

In most cases your pet will receive more comprehensive treatment if it is brought into the surgery where we have the equipment, facilities and staff necessary to treat them. However, there are some cases when it may be preferable to provide treatment at your home. We endeavour to come out to your home at your convenience but we ask that you call the surgery in the morning so we can arrange this around other duties. There is an additional charge for a home visit. You will be provided with an estimate of fees when booking a visit. The cost of a home visit depends on the distance from the practice.

Cancellations

Late cancellations and missed appointments can have a huge impact on the service we offer and we are often called with pet emergencies that need to be seen on the same day. Missed appointments can delay urgent care of sick pets and put our team under a lot of pressure.

Please note that once you have booked an appointment with us it means that we have reserved time in our schedule exclusively for you and your pet. If you cancel your appointment less than 24 hours before it is scheduled to take place, you will be subject to a cancellation fee of 50% of the cost. This also applied to members of the Leith Vets Pet Health Club. Repeated missed appointments may also mean that we ask for a deposit when you book appointments and procedures.

Leith Vets charge a booking fee of £100 when all surgical procedures are booked. The following cancellation fees apply if procedures are cancelled with less than 48hr notice:

Procedure estimate >£200 = £100 cancellation fee

Procedure estimate <£200 = £50 cancellation fee.

You can cancel or reschedule an appointment by calling us on 0131 516 1550.

Out of hours care and hospitalisation

We have provisions in place to provide emergency care for outside normal surgery hours with ICR Vets Loanhead. Further details concerning the precise arrangements for emergency service are available in the practice. In-house hospitalisation is appropriate for some patients. Overnight checks can be arranged and these will be discussed with you before your animal stays overnight. In the interest of staff safety, we cannot provide overnight consultations or visitations of pets.

Online consultation service

We are able to provide an online consultation service inside our standard practice opening hours. This allows you to obtain information and advice from one of our veterinarians. Under RCVS regulations, we are unable to provide diagnosis without physically examining your pet.

In certain circumstances the veterinary surgeon may consider that your pet's healthcare issues are best addressed other than through the online consultation service and they may suggest that you should seek advice in person at the practice or a third party practice, such as our out of hours emergency care provider. Please note that we are unable to prescribe schedule 3 medications (controlled drugs such as gabapentin) and antibiotics without a physical examination as per the VMD and RCVS guidelines.

As part of the online consultation service you will need to provide information about your pet. You accept that we may only provide services in accordance with these Terms if you provide us with all the information we need. A clinical record of online consultations will be made in your pet’s record and this can be shared with other veterinary care providers if required.

Therefore, you must:

• Provide all information accurately and in English.

• Seek further medical advice if you have any concerns about our services or any information that we provide.

• Follow any instructions you are given by the veterinarian.

• Follow any instructions regarding the use of any medicines or products the veterinarian recommends.

• Report any adverse or unexpected effects of treatments to us or visit an emergency vet if we are unavailable.

By submitting a request for an online consultation you agree to pay the associated fees for this service. During the online consultation, the veterinarian will discuss with you and assess your pet’s needs and, if possible, provide you with information, guidance and/or advice.

If your pet needs immediate medical attention you should promptly take your pet to the emergency veterinary care provider.

You agree that the online consultation service is for registered clients of Leith Vets (Forth Petcare Ltd) and by using the service when not registered you are in breach of these terms and conditions.

Payment

There is no NHS for pets, so veterinary practices are providing private health care. The fees you pay reflect the investment we make in caring for your pet along with funding the services, medications, facilities and staff expertise, allowing us to give the best possible care for your pets. Professional fees vary according to the time spent on a case, and the level of expertise required of the staff looking after your pet.

All charges made in respect of fees, the cost of drugs or food/diets are subject to V.A.T. at the current rate (20%). Fee levels are determined by the amount of time spent on the case, the requirement for specific diagnostic testing and according to any drugs, materials and consumables used. A full itemised invoice detailing any charges made will be provided for any consultation, surgical procedure, or transaction made with us. In the event that your pet is hospitalised we may require part payment in advance of any period of hospitalisation and/or interim payments for longer periods of hospitalisation. If your pet is hospitalised we will make all efforts to phone you each day to discuss the progress of your animal and the fees incurred.

Payment is accepted by debit/credit card. Please note that we can not accept cheques and we will only accept cash under exceptional circumstances. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide credit terms, however we work closely with a third party credit provider (Carefree Credit) who may be able to help you spread the cost of treatment if required. If you use a third party credit provider any agreement is between you and the credit provider and not with Leith Vets (Forth Petcare Ltd).

Please note that if a pet is registered with our practice we will assume that any person (over the age of 18) other than the registered pet owner who may bring the pet in for treatment is duly authorised by the registered pet owner to seek treatment for the pet and to incur costs for which the registered pet owner will be liable.

Where a pet is not registered with our practice we will assume that the individual requesting treatment accepts liability for all costs incurred. A deposit may be required in this case.

Should an account not be settled within 7 days of the time the invoice is issued, (without prior arrangement with the Director), a reminder invoice will be sent and an additional administration charge of £20 excl VAT will be applied. Should it be necessary, further reminders will be sent and further administration charges incurred. After due notice, overdue accounts will be referred to a solicitor agency and/or debt collection agency. Any costs incurred in respect of collecting the debt, such as the cost of correspondence or court fees will be added to the account.

If you are unable to settle your account as specified above, please discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff.

Unless a prior arrangement has been made we request that individual cremations are paid for in advance.

The Right to Refuse Services

Any client found to be threatening a member of staff, behaving inappropriately or failing to clear their account in response to a final written request will be refused veterinary services other than emergency care.

Insurance

We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. In some cases with prior agreement, it is possible for the practice to submit a claim directly to the insurer. Where possible we request that a pre-authorisation form is completed. There may be circumstances where we ask for a deposit of £250 to be paid. There will be an administration charge to cover the substantial administration costs of direct claims, in addition to the policy excess. This is required to be paid at the time of consultation, collection of drugs/food or upon discharge of your pet from our care. There is a direct insurance claim processing fee of £25. We do not charge an insurance processing fee for claims where the insurance company reimburses the client.

We request the following at the time of request –
A signed insurance claim form at the time of collection of your pet and indication that payment should be made direct to us. To pay all outstanding fees in full immediately if the insurance company decline to accept the claim in part or in full, or if the insurance company has not made settlement within 30 days of submission of the claim. Failure to do so could result in us seeking full settlement from you after 30 days.

Liability

Nothing in this agreement shall limit or exclude either party’s liability (a) for death or personal injury caused by their negligence, (b) for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) for any other act, omission, or liability which may not be limited or excluded by law. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of this agreement or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. We only supply products to you for domestic and private use and we will not be liable for business losses. Our website and promotional material is for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Leith Vets endeavours to provide content that is accurate and true at the time of writing. However, we can give no assurance regarding the accuracy, timeliness or applicability of any content. In cases where you are unsure, please contact us and one of our veterinarians will be pleased to help.

Client confidentiality

The veterinary surgeon/client relationship is founded on trust, and in normal circumstances we will not disclose to any third party any information about a client or their animal(s) given by the client. For full details on what data we collect and how it is used, please refer to our Privacy Policy which is available on our website.

Investigation of your pet’s health may involve, for example, taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scan. Whilst we make a charge for performing and interpreting these investigations, ownership of the record remains with Leith Vets (Forth Petcare Ltd). Case records including radiographic films, other images and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, Leith Vets (Forth Petcare Ltd) in the interests of animal welfare and for our own protection.

At the request of a client we will provide copies of relevant clinical records, including any clinical records that have been acquired from another practice. A reasonable charge may be made where any significant expense is involved in providing such copies, for example, with the provision of copy radiographs.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the development of the veterinary profession, from time to time the Practice may share anonymised data with research groups and institutions.

Telephone calls

All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

CCTV

We use CCTV including audio recording at Leith Vets the safety of our staff, clients and patients. Recordings will be kept for 3 months.

Complaints

We pride ourselves on offering top quality service and take customer satisfaction and complaints seriously. Should we not meet your expectations on any aspect of our service, please let us know at the time where possible. The complaint will be responded to within 21 days of submission. Alternatively, should you wish to raise a formal complaint, we ask that you contact the practice in person, by telephone or email within three months of the complaint event. The director will then investigate your complaint thoroughly.

Miscellaneous

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one of the practice directors. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.