Yesterday my friend asked me to take her dog to the vets as when she went to let him out for a wee he ended up having blood coming out both ends of his body bless him, she rang her emergency vets who told her to take the dog straight to her vets to be seen, got round as soon as I heard(I seem to be the local dog ambulance) loaded him up and off we went. When we got there the vet wasnt there yet and two of the nurses refused to examine him and told us to bring him back in the afternoon as they didnt have an appointment until then, I tried to point out that he had lost a lot of blood but their response was well he hasnt collapsed so you will have to wait. I couldnt believe they wouldnt even look at him. I was really angry so told my friend to load him back in my car while I phoned my vets told them I was registered with them but my friend wasnt and that her surgery wouldnt see him even though he had lost lots of blood. Their response was bring him straight in, by the time we got there they had gotten his history from the other vets and as soon as we got there they saw him, my vet said he was in  toxic shock and then went into vet speak admitted the dog straight away, poor baby has had lots of tests and vet phoned in the afternoon to let her know that his immune system was attacking his intestines(there was a name cant remember) he told her with treatment he would get better really quickly or get even worse and have to be pts. My vet phoned her last night and said he had tried to leave it as long as possible before ringing her to see if he improved because at one time he only gave him a 10% chance of survival, by last night it was 50/50, this morning he phoned and told her to come and get him as he was much better and his treatment could be carried on at home but he has to go to the vets again in the morning to check on him and wont be discharged totally until next week.
In the meantime her old vet surgery phoned to say they were faxing both her dogs history over to my vets as she was being unreasonable because she couldnt be seen straight away and that if she couldnt get an appointment with her doctors straight away she wouldnt find a new one would she, her response was no I would go to the hospital.
She was amazed at my vet how the treated the dog as if it were their own.
Is there anyone she can make a complaint to as she was told if she had waited he would have probably have died. Luckily he is now home and looking like a completely different dog to yesterday.
I dont think I would have believed a surgery could have behaved like that unless I had been there to see it.
Sorry to go on juysrt really angry.
Mary

Hi Mary, I'd contact the RCVS, that is shameful behaviour on the part of her vet

Oh Mary, thats awful :(
Glad that your vet was on hand to help. I would certainly report them.

That's terrible and he/she, shouldn't be a vet if that's the attitude. It's a different story when it comes to handing out the bill though no doubt?
I hope your friends dog recovers completely and that she'll use your vet from now on.

Make notes now, while its fresh in your mind, of times and dates and people you spoke to and what they said, relating to all this. Its funny how things can get a bit hazy when a week has passed. Then keep a diary of what has happened. All the details will be needed when the complaint is made. You will need backup regarding all that happened from your vet also. Do not complain to them, do it direct to the BVA. Have no furthur contact with the former vets.

This attitude, both on the day and their actions following are totally inexcusable and could well have led to the dogs death. At the very least they need a severe repremand.

If she phoned the emergency vet and was told to go straight away then her vets were in the wrong, BUT, is she sure that they didn't say that as your vets aren't open yet you have to go to such and such vets?  I know that we have to travel half an hour away in an emergency for all of the local vets around us and many surgeries have a certain one that treats out of hour calls.

It may be that in the rush and worry she missed this is out and that is why there was no-one available at her usual vets.

Not calling your friend but this may be why there was no vet there and why they told her to come back in the afternoon because they didn't know about the case.

No the emergency vet said that her own vet had taken over from them thats why she was told to see her own and not go to the Royal Vet College. Her issue is two trained nurses refused to look at him but prefered to stand around chatting. They were down right rude and there is no excuse for that. The good thing is she is going to carry on at my vet who really treats your pet as if they were their own and its not all about the money.
Mary

Nurses can do a lot of treatments but are not qualified to make assessments and diagnosis on animals, so they were right in saying that they could not look at the dog, I guess the surgery can stay open for those treatments that they can do and more serious issues being allocated to the afternoon when a vet is there, perhaps there was a staff shortage or a vet out on an emergency call???

Someone messed up though, the emergency vet thought one was at the practise and sent you there when there wasn't one, really once finding out there was no vet, the emergency vet should then have been called for you by the nurses who seem to have made their own unqualified assessment which was wrong of them, I would personally think a dog bleeding from all orifaces is an emergency.:rolleyes:

Glad that you took him to your vet and he is recovering well.

Your friend has no case against wanting the nurses to examine him, but did they ask her to seek out the emergency vet again?  That would have been an apropriate action or better still they could have called this vet for you.

Glad that this poor dog got to see a vet in the end, I think your friend is wise to stay with yours now.

Nurses aren't qualified to make a diagnosis but they are able to speak to a vet!!! They could then follow instruction until he/she arrived!!! No excuse...this would never have happened in any vets where I have worked.

The reason they wouldnt look at him was because he didnt have an appointment and he hadnt collapsed which to me is a poor excuse.
Maybe I expect too much as the treatment you receive at my vets is excellent, my vet loves the job he does and all his staff are friendly and polite. 
At least Scooby is feeling better.
Mary