Cromwell Vets threatened to put our dog to sleep if we didn't pay for treatment she didn't even need
Taking our family dog to Cromwell Vets was the biggest mistake I have ever made.
Our first consultation seemed a bit odd. After little more than a glance at our dog the vet immediately presented us with two options: spend several hundred pounds on a set of tests, or think about having her put to sleep. The way this was presented was concerning, we were not given any kind of breakdown of the suggested treatments, there was no communication related to the medical value of any of the treatments and there was absolutely no consideration given to the affordability of these options.
When we made it clear we had a limited budget the vet still didn't offer any additional suggestions or options. We essentially had to specifically ask detailed questions about the treatments being suggested and try to make our own guesses as to the value and priority of these. There was no real medical advice being given here, we were essentially talking to a sales rep in a vet's uniform. After having to work out the best option for ourselves, we opted to have our dog stay in overnight on the understanding that they would only perform a specific set of tests.
We were repeatedly promised a phone call in 'around two hours' to get some initial test results and talk about next steps. The phone call never arrived. After four hours we called and asked for an update, only to be told they were busy and a vet would call back. Finally, over five hours after leaving our dog, we got the phone call.
The pattern here was much the same as the initial 'consultation'. We were essentially bombarded with a list of additional tests and presented with the same type of ultimatum: pay up or have our dog put to sleep. Once again, the vet made no attempt to communicate the relative value, priority or likely outcomes of any specific treatment. Even though we had already made it clear we were on a budget the vet also made absolutely no attempt to work with us to work out a course of treatments that we could afford. It was exactly the same false choice that was presented earlier by a different member of staff: sign the cheque or they pull the trigger.
At this point it became apparent that we were seeing Cromwell Vets' standard sales tactic. It appears to be carefully designed to get the customer to agree to the largest possible range of treatments and it doesn't waste any time on such non-profit-making tasks such as explaining these to the customer. You can see how this works: present the customer with every treatment they can think of and then present the only alternative choice as having your pet put to sleep. This neatly enables Cromwell Vets to generate vast amounts of revenue from customers with the means, or insurance, to pile cash into Cromwell Vet's bank account. For everybody else they still make money by charging customers to have their pets put to sleep. It is a highly efficient cash generating business model.
The big problem here is that this should never be allowed to happen. Staff employed by by Cromwell Vets are supposed to be regulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, this means that they have committed to following a specific code of professional conduct. I checked the conduct we saw from at least two Cromwells Vets staff members against the 'Veterinary nurses and clients' section of the RCVS code of conduct and found that every single aspect of the code of conduct had been blatantly ignored by the staff. They appear to have conveniently forgotten about their commitment to a code of conduct or, more likely, have been convinced by Cromwell Vets to subscribe to an alternate 'process for maximising profits' based code instead. They essentially appear to have sold themselves out.
At this point we were in a truly horrific position, it felt like Cromwells Vets were holding our family dog to ransom and had no interest whatsoever in her welfare. We were simply required to keep shovelling them cash in order to stop them from killing her. We knew she might be ill, maybe that it was time for her to go to sleep but the realisation that we had delivered our loyal little dog into the hands of people that simply wanted to use her life as a tool to extract money hit exceptionally hard.
At this point we drove to Cromwells Vets and demanded the return of our dog. Getting her back was not easy but we did eventually extract her from Cromwells Vets' ransom cell.
To add insult to injury, it turned out that our dog's health issue was easily identified and easily treated. After seeking alternate advice and few days careful feeding, hydration and pain medication, she is now getting stronger every day.
I consider this to be a lucky escape, although I genuinely dread to think about how many other animals were not so fortunate and ended up as innocent casualties of Cromwell Vets' profit-before-welfare mentality.
8 March 2024
Unprompted review