Terms & Conditions

This document details our Practice Terms and Conditions. Should you require any clarification of any aspect of the terms then please ask.

Opening Hours

We provide a 24 hour emergency service to our clients.

Our surgery opening hours are Monday to Friday 8.45am – 6pm and Saturday 9am – 12pm. Please see the specific sections of the website for full details or any amendments to our opening hours.

When you call the practice all phone calls are recorded.

Home Visits

In most instances we can provide a much higher standard of care (including but not limited to further investigation, surgical procedures or diagnostic tests) at our surgery. However we recognise there are certain instances when a home visit is needed and are happy to see your animal in their own home. Please contact us as usual to arrange a visit. Home visits do incur an extra fee on top of any treatment that may be administered.

Overnight care

At times our patients require overnight hospitalisation to provide the best level of care and to help them on to a speedy recovery. At Flett & Carmichael we pride ourselves on providing our own Out-of-Hours care by our own vets.
Overnight care is provided at our practice in Hatston by our duty vet.  We will make a detailed assessment and plan specific to your pet’s medical and/or surgical needs, and discuss them with you.

Fee Structure

Our fees are divided into either services or drugs, and cover the wide range of surgical and medical procedures that we offer, all of which are subject to VAT at the standard rate. We can provide you with an estimate for all investigations or surgical procedures. We endeavor to make our estimates as accurate as possible however unforeseen circumstances may dictate that we are unable to adhere to the estimate. We will keep you informed of any alterations as soon as possible. In an emergency situation, at a Veterinary surgeon’s judgement, we reserve the right to act in order to maintain the high standard of welfare we expect for our patients. We are happy to provide you with an itemised bill for all procedures. If you have a query regarding routine prices please feel free to contact the practice.

Settlement Terms – Small Animal Accounts

Payment is due at the time of treatment or at discharge from the practice. Alternative arrangements are possible, however must be agreed in advance with a senior member of staff. Any fees left outstanding will incur an invoice and an admin fee will be applied. If this invoice remains unpaid surcharges will be applied to the account.  After due notice we reserve the right to refer an unpaid account to a debt collection agency.  Insured clients may have the facility to arrange payment by the insurers directly to Flett & Carmichael, this will incur an admin charge. Most policies have an excess which should be paid to us at the time of the treatment. It should be noted that the client remains liable for all fees and excesses in the result of a claim being rejected. It is the client’s sole responsibility to ensure they have read, understood and are adhering to the specific terms and conditions of their particular policy.

Settlement Terms – Farm and Equine Accounts

All farm and horse work is invoiced at the end of the month following treatment. Payment on or before 15th of the same month of invoicing will qualify for a 5% discount. This discount offer is stamped on the first monthly statement sent out. Payment terms are strictly 30 days from the date of the statement. Interest will be charged on overdue accounts at 3% per month. When extended payment terms are agreed with any client on approval of a director and the balance has reduced on a monthly basis, a 1% interest is applied on these reducing balances.

Inability to pay

If, for whatever reason you are unable to pay for the services provided, we ask you contact us as soon as possible and before treatment is commenced. As stated above it may be possible to come to an alternative payment arrangement, subject to the criteria in section “Settlement Terms”.

Referrals or second opinions

While we pride ourselves on offering an incredibly comprehensive service for all the species we treat, we are aware that occasionally there are clinical outcomes or further diagnostics that are unachievable in general practice (for instance a dedicated MRI scanner). Our clinical team will always act in your animal’s best interests, and should we feel that a referral to a specialist centre is warranted we will advise you of this. We have a close working relationship with the referral centres we use, and they in turn are happy to give us advice on cases where referral is not an option but their expertise is invaluable to the treatment of the animals under our care.

Prescriptions

Medical prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines (POM-Vs) from your vet or ask to obtain these medicines from another vet or pharmacy. We are only able to supply prescriptions for animals under our care, and a prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an inpatient or in an emergency situation. You will be informed (on request) of the price of any medicine that may be dispensed to your animal.
We have a general policy of reassessing animals on long term treatment or prescription every 6 months, however in certain conditions we may need to re-examine at a shorter interval. A standard examination charge will apply. A fee will apply per medical prescription per animal. Further information on the prices of medicines is available on request.

Data Protection

We strictly adhere to the current GDPR legislation. Please see the specific GDPR section of the website for more details.

Ownership of records

Care for your animal, be it consultations or further investigations (such as blood tests or x-rays), will generate records which form the broader clinical history of your animal. At all times this remains under the ownership of Hatston Veterinary Centre. The cost associated with further investigations is to perform and interpret the results of these investigations. You may view your animal’s clinical history by appointment only. A copy of your animals full clinical history can be forwarded to another Veterinary Surgeon at your request, should the need arise.

Declining or withdrawal of services

We reserve the right to decline or remove Veterinary services at any time, solely at our discretion. If you are an existing client you will be advised by a Director that Veterinary services have been withdrawn. You will receive written confirmation of this within 3 working days. From receiving initial notice we will continue to provide emergency treatment for your animals for 7 working days. After this date the responsibility for your animal’s ongoing or future veterinary care rests solely with the owner (save our responsibilities under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons). We will forward a copy of any clinical notes to your nominated vet.

Complaints policy

We endeavor to provide the best level of care for your animal, however if you feel we have failed to achieve that high standard of care, our complaints procedure is as follows.
In the first instance please phone the practice on 01856 872859 during normal opening hours and ask to speak to a Director. A Director will endeavor to respond to your call at the time, but unfortunately due to clinical work that may be impossible, in which case our reception staff will take your details and a Director will contact you within 24 hours.
If a resolution cannot be achieved we may request your complaint in writing, addressed FAO The Directors, Flett and Carmichael, 1 Garrison Road, Hatston Ind Est, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1GN. You will receive a written response within 14 working days of receipt of your complaint. In the unlikely event of an unsatisfactory outcome you have the right to raise your grievance with our governing body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.