I had a phone call from the Manager @ Huyton PDSA today, she was very kind and told me an investigation with the head vet has been opened and it has now been sent higher to the PDSA complaints department.
I would like to point out that the Manager of Huyton PDSA seems very keen to help and support us with our complaints and the changes that need to be done to benefit everyone.
I have updated our terms for fixing these issues.
PDSA & Vets Now needs to improve;
1) Compassion
2) Understanding
3) Standards of care
4) Transparency of fees and what services they provide.
5) Change their name from including VET to First Aid Hospital, as saying they are a vet says they can deal with most veterinary procedures and services.
6) Be concise with the information provided to clients, instead of letting one client pay later and one client have to pay upfront. It's one or the other, you can not pick and choose, and it is not fair to people. Especially when someone spends the last of their electricity money, possibly going home to no electricity but others don't have to.
7) Staff should keep comments about callers, private, it should be kept for the back not for the public to hear and see.
8) Data protection training for all your staff.
9) You need to be more transparent with the services you offer and the services you can't offer. So when someone comes to your "VET Hospital" they are not disappointed when told they can't provide that service, test, or diagnostic tools. Then having to go find another VET. I would prefer to know you have a list of what you can and can't deal with so I can just find a VET that can provide the services you can't instead of having to pay for the privilege of having money taken to be told you have to go to another vet, having to pay again at a different vet. Also if it is something that the PDSA can not deal with we should not be paying for a consultation. You pay for the consultation expecting to have a full service.
10) People contact the PDSA, your advisors saying "Well I am not a VET, but it sounds like you need to find one" because you are not taking on any new clients is not helpful. People call the PDSA because your website states "Vet Charity" & "Pet Hospital" you are expecting to see or speak to a "VET". This causes stress on us as owners, and then stress on the pet as the pet sees and senses the stress, causing even more stress on the pet.
11) Your emergency telephones should be positioned in a private room, not in view of the public when some calls can be hard. It is not helpful and can be upsetting to people in the waiting area hearing the calls. They should also be positioned near the VET's themselves as your call handler has to check to see if a situation is an emergency or not and have someone answer the phones that are trained in knowing what is and what is not an emergency, as it seems they have very little animal knowledge. If they are answering phones to clients in need of vet care, should. Having a trained member of staff answering the phones, and being able to make a judgment as to if something is an emergency or not will cut down the time it takes to get life-saving treatment to our pets.
We will update you with more information as and when it is available.