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Following CMA’S concerns around the rising costs of the veterinary sector for pet owners, national pet charity Blue Cross wants to urge private practices to adopt a more pragmatic approach when it comes to treatment.

Following a sharp rise in owners presenting to Blue Cross hospitals, being unable to afford treatment in their own practice, the charity is calling for the sector to be more transparent with owners about costs upfront and to consider offering alternative and cheaper treatment options.

 The charity’s veterinary service has seen:

• A £1m increase in its own costs during the past year due to things such as rising staff rates and costs of medicine.
• A 4000% increase between May 2023 and March 2024 (from 25 practices to 1,000 practices) in Blue Cross’ Veterinary Care Fund requests from private practices needing support for their clients whose pets need urgent treatment

Dr Paul Manktelow, Chief Vet at Blue Cross said:

“The ongoing cost of living crisis is having an unprecedented impact on the veterinary sector, and we know practices are having to adapt to help meet the needs of pet owners. While the strain on the sector is outside of an individual practices or vet’s control, we’d encourage professionals across the sector to adopt a pragmatic and transparent approach with their patients, especially around the cost of treatments, and when sharing available treatment options available to them.

“Enquiries to our Veterinary Care Fund, which offers support for practices to help its clients pay for emergency treatments for their pet, have increased rapidly –  up from 25 practice applications to 1000 practices in 2024 alone. This illustrates how much the sector needs our help. At Blue Cross, our  goal is to help as many pets and people as possible, so we will continue to do all we can in difficult times for vets, and pet owners alike.”

For more information on the veterinary care fund, please visit Bluecross.org.uk.

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