Push for lower vet prices could disadvantage smaller Kent practices

KentOnline / KMTV

Vet practices in Kent are speaking out amid proposals by the Competition and Markets Authority to overhaul the industry in an effort to reduce costs for pet owners.   Chloe Brewster reports.

Transcript

00:00Whether you're an animal lover or prefer a fur-free home, I think we can all agree

00:06prices for everything have risen. But for the more than 10 million households in the UK that

00:11own a pet, the increasing costs have become all the more apparent. Vet bills have risen more than

00:1760% in 10 years, with 80% of owners saying the cost of having their pet has increased.

00:23In response, the Competition and Markets Authority have proposed 21 new measures for the industry.

00:28The CMA's recent report found that vet bills have risen way above inflation. They've come

00:34up with a couple of solutions to try and keep prices low for consumers.

00:38Measures the CMA have proposed include capping prescriptions at £16, requiring vets to provide

00:43itemised bills and encouraging owners to shop online for medicines rather than paying the

00:48prices in store.

00:49But here at Broadway Vets in Herne Bay, they say the answer just isn't that simple.

00:55They haven't fixed the problem, which is where we get our drugs from. In some areas

00:59of Europe, I think actually most of Europe, they get their drugs direct from the provider

01:04of the drug. In the UK, we have to buy from a wholesaler. So at every stage that product

01:09is touched by someone else, there's a markup on it. And every time there's a markup, by the

01:13time it gets to that end user, that price has gone up two, three, four times.

01:17I think it's really important that people understand what they're paying for. And I think the most

01:21important thing for us is that once we've had that conversation with how much that procedure

01:26costs, whatever it is, that we can have that dialogue with the customer and that we can interact

01:31on what the next steps are.

01:33Not only are the measures aimed at reducing prices, they also hope to make them much clearer

01:38from the outset.

01:39We're really supportive of the remedies in the report around transparency. I think it's really

01:44important for pet owners to know when they go into a practice, who owns that practice,

01:49whether it's part of a large group or not. And I think that's really important. There

01:53are some remedies in there which are common practice already across the sector, such as

01:58providing people with itemised bills and written estimates before treatment is undertaken.

02:04There are some practices that aren't doing that, which is why the CMA have included it in

02:08their provisional remedies. This investigation has highlighted a lot of press pieces around the

02:14veterinary sector that can sometimes feel a bit hostile to the people working on the ground

02:19who don't control the prices and just want what's best for people's pets.

02:22These measures are provisional, with final reforms to be decided in March. While opinions

02:28are mixed in industry, we're sure pet owners are hoping for an improvement with the poor prices.

02:33Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Herne Bay.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended