Medivet 24 Hour Swanland

All round first class service. Our dog received the best care possible, when she was spayed this week. Thank you.

To start, I would rate the veterinary practitioners themselves a solid 5. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the administrative side of the business. The issues began around nine weeks ago when I called last minute for some medication. I was told it would take approximately 2-3 days, which was acceptable since it was my fault for calling late. They mentioned they would notify me if it was ready sooner. I was supposed to receive a text message in a few days, but after waiting over the weekend and several days the next week, I received nothing. I had to call to get an appointment with a vet just to get the medication the same day because it was urgently needed. During this appointment, I was informed about additional follow-up care that would cost around £1500. I asked for some time before booking it. When I called to request an insurance form be completed for the first appointment, I was told they could do a preauthorization form with my insurance also for the follow up care, which would take a few days to complete and usually about five working days for the insurance to respond. After waiting a few weeks, I called on a Saturday for an update as my pet’s condition was worsening. The person on duty had no idea if the form was done and couldn’t help. I asked to book an appointment as soon as possible since my pet needed to be seen regardless of the form’s status and was advised she would update the system to get someone to call me back as she couldn’t help with this. I called again on Monday after not receiving a call back and was informed that my insurance doesn’t do preauthorization claims. No one had told me this before, despite it being suggested. I understand the person who recommended it might not have known, but no one called to inform me that the preauthorization form I was waiting for weeks hadn’t been sent because it wasn’t possible. This information could have saved me weeks of waiting. After waiting for the original insurance form to be completed, I found out the insurance never received it. Since August 19th, when the form was supposedly sent, I have been calling to have it resent. Six weeks later, it still hasn’t been done. I now have two more insurance forms that need to be filled out. After calling over 13 times in the past few weeks, I am constantly told that Claire, the insurance lady, has been informed and will update me. Sadly, I had to put my pet down about three weeks ago. I was told to pay once we collected her ashes. During one of the many calls, I was informed that my account was on hold due to unpaid fees, despite being told to pay later. This was never communicated to me in earlier calls. I was also told my dog’s ashes had been returned, so I went to collect them and paid immediately within 15 minutes of that call. I asked if the insurance forms could be completed as it was distressing to keep calling about this, especially after losing my pet. Despite calling 3-4 times a week, there has been no progress. I asked to speak with the practice manager, only to be told there isn’t one currently, so I requested to speak with the clinical director admittedly this was less than 24 hours ago, so may still happen and I was advised he was at a different clinic treating pets, so I will advise if I get the call and cant say anything negative about this since it would be unfair on the time since requesting. Before the practice was taken over, I had no issues. Since then, many people have mentioned having problems, and some Google reviews suggest the same. The veterinary practitioners are fantastic day-to-day, but the administrative side is severely lacking. I have spoken to numerous admin staff who say they will pass on my updates to Claire, but I never hear back. I am not sure which side the issue is at, but the issue is for Medivet to look into I would just like my issue resolving. There is a major issue with waiting this long. I will update the review if I receive any updates and note how long it takes to resolve.

Despite the surgery always busy I never have a problem getting an appointment. Staff are welcoming to both the paying customer and their loved animal-children. They are gentle and like to get to know the 'patient' well.