Bl**dy clients

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:37:05 GMT

Alternatively, of course, there's the thorny problem of VN pay scales if she's better off not working :p

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

It is a problem which needs addressing. A VN colleague who has just had her third child, and whose husband has had his work reduced to part time is going to give up full time work earning around £22k and reduce to 16 hours per week, because she will be financially better off. She is an excellent hard working nurse, and certainly not a scrounger, but she will be considerably better off by doing less work - madness. What needs addressing is the excessive taxation on lower earners which creates this situation.

[/quote]

Re: Bl**dy clients

Julian Earl — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:23:13 GMT

Scenario: tracing TB test, one animal, for which we receive maybe a total of £25 to £27 for the two visits. Examine a horse "while you are here". Cue shouting complaining farmer when he receives the invoice for the examination charge at the end of the month . "Why can't you do it as a favour?"

Re: Bl**dy clients

Bob Russell — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:11:47 GMT

Remember (Radio 4 I think) an irate 'parasite' claiming she had a right to claim benefits rather than work because she pays tax. On further questioning the tax in question was VAT/Duty on her fags!

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:35:12 GMT

I've seen this; it's really infuriating. Of course, as people on benefits vote, they will not vote for people who are going to cut their benefits. Benefit cutting politicians don't get re elected.

Hmm...

Re: Bl**dy clients

Vikki Halliday LLB — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:35:27 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

one can also report suspects online too

[/quote]

Useful site, however I'm not sure I want to be asking for National Insurance numbers as requested by the online form!

Re: Bl**dy clients

Clive Ansell — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:31:53 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Total agreement with what all of you have said. I don't mind paying tax to give benefits to the genuinely severely disabled,but wish the medical profession would take their certification responsibilities seriously !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry Arlo, I couldn't resist the row of exclamation marks. Tax freedom day is later than it's ever been, the government admits that the majority of children living below the poverty line are in working (taxed ) households,and that milking the benefits system is a lucrative scam for some-but still won't curb benefits drastically

Wynne

[/quote]

Re: Bl**dy clients

Clive Ansell — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:18:25 GMT

[quote user="Utlendigur"]

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]The mother of a VN I know gets a new car every 2-3 years courtesy of the taxpayer (AKA me) because she is on benefits for an (alleged) bad back (Although able to carry a 32.0Kg Labrador in to the practice up 4 steps,[/quote]

You don't happen to have CCTV do you? (and the number of the benefit fraud hotline)

[/quote]

I'm afraid I don't.

One of the PDSA branches I once worked in had a banner displaying the DSS fraud hotline number behind reception.

one can also report suspects online too

Re: Bl**dy clients

Hannah Wynne Richards — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:04:15 GMT

Wynne

Re: Bl**dy clients

Vikki Halliday LLB — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:44:16 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]encouraging feckless people to believe that pet owning is a right and not a responsibility.[/quote]

And that is precisely my point, albeit succinctly put.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Utlendigur — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:04:53 GMT

You don't happen to have CCTV do you? (and the number of the benefit fraud hotline)

Re: Bl**dy clients

Clive Ansell — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:52:54 GMT

[quote user="Vikki Halliday"]

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

In the 2 petaid practices I locum, any breeding related condition, including c-section, is not covered. pay up or PTS. In one of those practices neutering is compulsory to be accepted on to the scheme.

[/quote]

I like this, and will certainly prevent occurrences like the one that hit the national press this year. However it still really irritates me that these people will carry on buying pets when they clearly have no intention of being able to provide care for them financially!

[/quote]

But as long as there are charities and practices willing to provide free or very cheap treatment, people will still be encouraged to buy a pet as they know someone else is there to take responsibility.

[quote user="Vikki Halliday"]

I mean really, would you buy a car and then expect the petrol free if you are on benefits?

AAARGGHHH!

[/quote]

Many of them would, yes. Unfortunately we have a mass of people on state benefits who see it has their right to have the same privileges and luxuries as everyone else, but with making no contribution whatsoever to anything.

In fact, the state does provide a free new car including servicing, tyres etc to some claimants. The mother of a VN I know gets a new car every 2-3 years courtesy of the taxpayer (AKA me) because she is on benefits for an (alleged) bad back (Although able to carry a 32.0Kg Labrador in to the practice up 4 steps, and then demand free treatment because daughter is a VN and she is on benefits)

Re: Bl**dy clients

Malcolm Ness — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:46:55 GMT

[quote user="Vikki Halliday"] the one that hit the national press this year[/quote]

Having been on the receiving end of the case that hit the national press, can I point out that the client had, earlier in the day and before we became involved contacted both a local PDSA "hospital" and a pet-aid practice who managed to turn them away because "they didn't qualify".......................

They "didn't qualify" for traetment at a private practice either on account of being unwilling to pay but we ended up taking the sh1t for the whole situation. IMHO the PDSA causes many more problems than ever it solves by wit of encouraging feckless people to believe that pet owning is a right and not a responsibility.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Richard Carter — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:40:54 GMT

[quote user="Vikki Halliday"] would you buy a car and then expect the petrol free if you are on benefits[/quote]

there is already such a scheme in place - 'Motibility' (?spelling?) - a client on benefits has a new BMW 1 series as she has a 'bad back'.....

Re: Bl**dy clients

Vikki Halliday LLB — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:16:44 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]Maybe you could forward clinical notes to the PDSA/PetAid practice stating that free insurance has been declined by the owner?, [/quote]

I got her to take it eventually, but "only cos it was free".

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

[/quote]

I mean really, would you buy a car and then expect the petrol free if you are on benefits?

AAARGGHHH!

Re: Bl**dy clients

Clive Ansell — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:11:26 GMT

Maybe you could forward clinical notes to the PDSA/PetAid practice stating that free insurance has been declined by the owner?, if a petaid practice they may well refuse to accept her on to the scheme?, as acceptance is discretionary. In the event that this pet needs expensive treaatment, there is no reason a petaid practice or the PDSA should pick up the tab where perfectly good insurance has been refused,

Re: Bl**dy clients

Vikki Halliday LLB — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 10:45:57 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Actually, coming back to this last BClient, if she's registered her other dog with PDSA at another practice, why's she coming to your practice?

[/quote]

Because we charge less for initial vaccinations.........but we don't do PDSA Pet Aid, therefore once innoculated, wormed, chipped and in receipt of all our professional advice regarding health care and neutering, and the proud owner of one of our puppy packs, she will head off into the sunset to be a "B C" at A N Other practice and probably arrive here one day having "accidentally" mated her Staffie bitch with another of the same breed, wanting to know how much we charge for a caesarian as the practice up the road obviously wouldn't do the op at what she considered a reasonable price, and cheek of all cheeks, they want to neuter it during the op as well, thus removing her beloved dog's "right" to have babies whenever she feels like it, "because it's cruel to not let them have pups, innit?"

Hmmm, Sundays always bring out my cynical side.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:41:19 GMT

Heh. I wish. :p VAT rise is going to be fun!

Re: Bl**dy clients

Alan Tevendale — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:38:43 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Seems like I pay more and more tax every year...

[/quote]

You must be earning more every year then. Obviously you are a fee grabbing vet like all the rest of us

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:37:30 GMT

[quote user="Vikki Halliday"]

And this week's "Bl**dy Client" award goes to:

BC : "no but I get all my treatment free from the PDSA at the practice up the road, I do for my other dog

[/quote]

Actually, coming back to this last BClient, if she's registered her other dog with PDSA at another practice, why's she coming to your practice?

Re: Bl**dy clients

Alan Tevendale — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:35:23 GMT

Had a woman phone up this week (not a client) wanting a visit as her own vet would not come out. Not only was she angry that we would charge her if we came out but she then couldn't understand why we didn't have any veterinary paramedics that would come and look at her cat as she then said she couldn't get it in basket as it was too aggressive. What did she expect our 'paramedics' to do exactly?

I have every sympathy for her own vet; who I suspect did offer to come out but would have told her exactly how much they would have charged her - just as we did.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:35:18 GMT

Seems like I pay more and more tax every year...

Re: Bl**dy clients

Laurence Webb — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:52:52 GMT

[quote user="Marie Kubiak"]

praise her outstanding economical sense and then provide comprehensive advice on how to breed her dogs prolifically.

[/quote]

As an added income stream for those on benefits it's unbeatable. Exempt from income tax too.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:47:37 GMT

Wow, that's almost *too* cynical! :p

Re: Bl**dy clients

Marie Kubiak — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:22:53 GMT

Vikki, your behaviour makes me ashamed of our profession. Clearly the response should have been to treat her animal for free, praise her outstanding economical sense and then provide comprehensive advice on how to breed her dogs prolifically.

Re: Bl**dy clients

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:16:23 GMT

You obviously don't understand the wonderful benefits system. If she's getting it for free, why on EARTH should she care who gets the bill? In fact, you should be ashamed for not giving her a discount, as she's on benefits. :p

The blank stare was totally honest, genuine confusion - that's what's the real crying shame.