Terms & Conditions

Fees and payment terms
Fees are subject to VAT at the current rate. You will be provided with an itemised statement for every visit. Fee levels are determined by the amount of time spent on a case and will reflect the drugs, materials and consumables used.

Payment must be made at the time of your visit. Payment methods are cash, credit or debit card. Cheques are not accepted.

Treatment costs
Written estimates will be given to you regarding the approximate costs for any treatment, procedure or surgery. The final invoice may be above or below the estimate given due to the nature of the work undertaken (amount of drugs given, theatre time, anaesthetic times etc). Should the ophthalmologist deem it necessary to perform further procedures not discussed previously, he/she will telephone you to inform you of the intended procedure, the approximate costs and to get your permission to do so.

Settlement Terms
Eye-Vet operates a payment-at-the time-of-treatment policy. Consultations are to be paid for at the end of each consultation and in-patient procedures should be paid for on collection of the patient.  After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be pursued through a debt collection agency. This may affect your credit status. All external costs will be added to the outstanding balance on the account.  Any Credit Card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the account being restored to the original sum with further charges being added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs together with interest on the principal sum.

Out of Hours Service
Eye Vet offers at 24 hour service. Out of hours service is weekdays between 5pm and 9am the following morning, and at weekends from 5pm Friday evening until 9am Monday morning.  During this time, referring veterinary surgeons may phone to get advice from an ophthalmologist or to refer an emergency case.

Out of hours consultations incur an increased consultation charge, and treatments or surgeries performed during out of hours incur increased professional fees. Written estimates will be provided.

All payment for out-of-hours treatment must be paid at the time of the visit or at the time of discharge of your animal.

Under no circumstances will direct claims be set up during out-of-hours

In some circumstances, another ophthalmology referral centre may take the out of hours service from us. Please be aware that you may be asked to travel to a different centre in a minority of cases.

Repeat prescriptions and written prescriptions
All Prescription Only Medicines Category V (POMV’s) must be authorised by a vet and we request 48 hours notice for any repeat prescriptions. Your pet must have been seen by the ophthalmologist within the last 6 months in order to abide by current regulations regarding dispensing of veterinary medications.

You may request a written prescription from the ophthalmologist for medication which your pet is prescribed. This can only be medication prescribed by the ophthalmologist – any medications prescribed by your own vet for any other medical condition remains the responsibility of your own vet.

Due to an increased number of requests for urgent prescription, an ‘urgent prescription surcharge’ is in place. This is due to nurses and ophthalmologists being called away from daily dutires/patient care to authorise and dispense these urgent prescriptions. This is a non-refundable surcharge fee and will not be reimbursed by your insurance company.

Off licence medicines
It may sometimes be necessary to use medications which are deemed “off licence”. This means that the medication may not be licensed for use in that particular species for that particular condition. When this is the case, authorised human medication is often used. By reading and accepting these terms and conditions you authorise the use of such medications provided by the ophthalmologist. You will be asked to sign an off-license form should you be dispensed any such medication.  By signing this form you give permission for their use and accept any attendant risks associated with their use.

Ownership of Records
Case records, including case history and any photography, radiographs or similar documents remain the property of Eye Vet and will be held under confidentiality agreements. Copies of such records may be passed on by request to another veterinary surgeon taking over or following up the case.

Telephone Recording
Please note that our calls both incoming and outgoing are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Data protection
Eye Vet is compliant with the 2018 General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Your personal data is collected, stored and used in a protected and safe manner. You reserve the right to request to see any personal data held by Eye Vet and also the right to rectification of any inaccurate or incomplete data. GDPR applies to data that can identify a living individual only and does not apply to animals.
Client information may be passed to 3rd parties (laboratories, insurance companies, debt collection company).