There have been some recent changes in legislation, which are designed to reduce the impact of drug resistance in certain categories of drugs. These have impacted the way we prescribe medicines to your pet.
Specifically, medicines used to treat parasites, including all prescription flea and worm treatments, can only be dispensed by our team if your pet has been examined by a registered veterinarian within 12 months. Although this has always been our policy the vet now has to annotate the clinical notes (rather than rely on automatic systems) with the exact flea and worming product and duration needed for the following year. Please bear with us as this logistical change may take a little more time than usual.
We anticipate this will not affect the vast majority of pets, as they do receive their annual vaccinations or are otherwise regular visitors, for various reasons. They will therefore have received the necessary checks to be eligible for parasite treatment, without the need for a parasite consultation.
We are in the process of updating our recording systems to facilitate this process.
If you require prescription parasite treatment for your pet and they have not been examined by one of our vets within 12 months, you will be required to arrange an appointment.
· The other major change is that courses of antibiotics cannot be dispensed, extended or changed without your animal being physically examined. This includes medications such as eye & ear drops and not just oral antibiotics.
You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines Veterinary, (POM-Vs) from your veterinary surgeon OR ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. There is a charge for written precriptions.
A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary.
You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medicine that may be dispensed for your animal.
Medicine regulations state we can only prescribe “prescription only medication” to animals “under our care”. Prescription only medicines include not only medications for long term treatment of diseases, but also the majority of the most effective flea, tick and worm preventative medicines (a prescription is required for these if they are purchased elsewhere). What constitutes under our care is open to interpretation but at some stage must have included a physical examination of the animal/herd/flock. In the case of medication for long term conditions this will be as and when we see the animal for regular check-ups – the interval between rechecks will depend on the condition your pet is being treated for – as a guideline this will be every 3-4 months for dogs on arthritis medication, every 2 - 3 months for those on heart medication. This will obviously be tailored to suit the individual case. This is important for the health of your pet and to ensure medication is working and is being used correctly.
A discounted fee is charged for these examinations.
For flea, tick and worm medication the checks should be at least yearly and can be at the same time as an annual health check and vaccinations, otherwise the check must be at a separate visit and healthcheck, again charged at a discounted fee.