# PDSA will they charge me?



## Grotbags (Jun 24, 2011)

Hi There. I'll apologise now if i'm in the wrong place but i have just joined and saw Dog Chat and i am chatting about my dog hehe

Basically i am registered disabled and i use the PDSA. i have my dog booked in with them for a small operation on his eye but forgot to ask if i have to pay or just make a donation.. 
I wondered if anyone happened to know please?


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## gladass (Jan 6, 2011)

PDSA ask for a donation only


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## celicababe1986 (Jun 22, 2009)

PDSA take donations. They will give you a receipt of what the operation should have cost. Please give as genorously as you can because that is all they run on!


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## BiKERcc (Jan 29, 2011)

Sometimes they ask for a set donation, depending on the treatment.


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## Grotbags (Jun 24, 2011)

thats great. thanks everyone xx


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## Mistyweather (Jan 11, 2009)

I don't think lthey ask for a set donation for anything other than spaying and vacs. Our little Misty had 3 opertions with them when she got cancer and we gave what we could manage each time but I have to say, it was nothing like the cost of the treatments on the little till receipt they give you, so you can see how much it would have been. Even then, I believe the prices were probqably much cheaper that some of the other vets around. We will always be very grateful to the PDSA.


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## BiKERcc (Jan 29, 2011)

Mistyweather said:


> I don't think they ask for a set donation for anything other than spaying and vacs.


That's what I meant  it depends on the treatment, but majority is just what you can afford to give them.


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## tazsdad (Jun 13, 2011)

give what u can afford you can always make it up in the next few months thank god for the pdsa.support them


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## LolaBoo (May 31, 2011)

Were having Lolas jabs done at the PDSA but even tho were paying for them were also giving a small donation and give them some bags of cat food ours dont eat duno where we would be if it wasnt for the PDSA as im also disabled


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## Steff (Mar 28, 2011)

i volunteer at a PDSA pet hospital. They will not charge you for the op, i believe the only things they charge for are vaccinations, microchips, spay/neuter, flea treatment and worming treatment.
Donate what you can afford, every £ is helpful. You could also donate food, old towels, old blankets, old newspapers, cotton wool balls etc

Hope his op goes well


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## Christine kelly (Dec 18, 2016)

Is PDSA open boxing day as my Chihuahua is unwell and I am disabled with full housing benefit can I give a donation ?


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Christine kelly said:


> Is PDSA open boxing day as my Chihuahua is unwell and I am disabled with full housing benefit can I give a donation ?


Why not ring them, if it goes to answerphone then there is usually a number to call for their out of hours provider......

Depending on how unwell your dog is it may be worth trying to have him/her seen tonight rather than wait another 24 hours.


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## Carol king (Jan 1, 2017)

labradrk said:


> Why not ring them, if it goes to answerphone then there is usually a number to call for their out of hours provider......
> 
> Depending on how unwell your dog is it may be worth trying to have him/her seen tonight rather than wait another 24 hours.


I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


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## BlueJay (Sep 20, 2013)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


Meds and equipment aren't free.....


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


when you take your car to a garage, do you also expect any repairs to be done for free?


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


This thread is years old so criteria may well have changed.

Did she meet all the necessary criteria to qualify for PDSA treatment?

Has she got more than one purebred dog?

At the end of the day they aren't the 'NHS for pets' & rely solely on donations.

It was your sister's choice to have a breed that not only is reknown for its health issues is it not a bit presumptuous to expect the donors to the charity to foot the bill when there are people in genuine need of their emergency services?


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


Id be interested to know what was done.

Not many emergency surgeries will run into that sort of money.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


Is it disgusting though? pets aren't cheap and medical treatment is even less so. It's always worth taking out insurance unless you have a lot of disposable income (which I imagine the overwhelming majority do not!) to cover unexpected large vet bills.


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## mrs phas (Apr 6, 2014)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


depends on circs, without knowing what and why its wrong to make a judgement

however I do know that being with PDSA, in a vet outreach, means that you are restricted to certain drugs and not always the best ones for the job, as the PDSA, being a charity, are themselves restricted to what they can pay out for
Also with PDSA, in a vet outreach, you are limited to one pet only per household, and in my vets, you have to give a minimum of £10 donation
I am forever grateful and indebted to them though


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

mrs phas said:


> depends on circs, without knowing what and why its wrong to make a judgement
> 
> however I do know that being with PDSA, in a vet outreach, means that you are restricted to certain drugs and not always the best ones for the job, as the PDSA, being a charity, are themselves restricted to what they can pay out for
> Also with PDSA, in a vet outreach, you are limited to one pet only per household, and in my vets, you have to give a minimum of £10 donation
> *I am forever grateful and indebted to them though*


Indeed, I used them once many years ago & nowadays I donate regularly, they are a lifeline for those in desperate need.


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## anachronism (Jan 30, 2014)

PDSA only ask for a donation, a lot of Vets Now surgeries use PDSA hospitals as their base overnight and they charge. It wouldnt be the first time there has been confusion about PDSA charging money when actually they are just using PDSA facilities and are a completely different company


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

anachronism said:


> PDSA only ask for a donation, a lot of Vets Now surgeries use PDSA hospitals as their base overnight and they charge. It wouldnt be the first time there has been confusion about PDSA charging money when actually they are just using PDSA facilities and are a completely different company


this is what we found. we took our cat one Sunday and were charged the full rate for emergency vet care , fair enough.


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

Carol king said:


> I would be careful my sister was just charged £2345 for a op on her pug today so don't believe they only ask for a donation and she was only kept in for 18 hrs I think this is disgusting!!!!


Not the PDSA but we had a bill of £4,500 last New Years Day for our dachshund's spinal op.Thank goodness for insurance !


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## Carol king (Jan 1, 2017)

BlueJay said:


> Meds and equipment aren't free.....


But can't see what warrants £2345 for treatment I thought pdsa prices were to help people not put then debt !!!
It was £600 for an hours op!!! The rest was treatment ie fluid antibiotic etc these are the prices of a private vet, and stated she was only in for 18hrs not 8 days !!!


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Carol king said:


> But can't see what warrants £2345 for treatment I thought pdsa prices were to help people not put then debt !!!
> It was £600 for an hours op!!! The rest was treatment ie fluid antibiotic etc these are the prices of a private vet, and stated she was only in for 18hrs not 8 days !!!


Have you requested an itemised bill?

I would question the total myself. Although it depends on what the surgery was/involved.


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## anachronism (Jan 30, 2014)

You have been seen by Vets now. Even for out of hours PDSA dont ask for a set amount, they ask for a donation.. They will give you a bill of what it would have cost in an out of hours vet but your donation is whatever you can afford


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

As I said in my post our local PDSA hospital is used by most vets in Nottingham for out-of hours care so treatment is to be paid in full, no subsidy from the PDSA charity unless you qualify.


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## Carol king (Jan 1, 2017)

simplysardonic said:


> This thread is years old so criteria may well have changed.
> 
> Did she meet all the necessary criteria to qualify for PDSA treatment?
> 
> ...


Excuse me my sister is a widow with a part time job only, and the dog didn't have health issues it was an accident that her daughters dog and my sisters dog were playing and as the other dog landed her paw on the other dogs head as she dragged it down her claw caught the pugs eye which bled they rushed to another vet which was closing and they told her to take her to a pdsa vet, my sister did not presume they wouldn't charge her but didn't think they would charge an arm and leg and £2345 is a bloody joke, and even told her to,go to her own vet for follow up care, after paying that much money I would expect them to care for the dog after don't you!! So l won,t be supporting them any longer!!!!


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## SusieRainbow (Jan 21, 2013)

Vets charge more for out of normal surgery hours such as nights , weekends and Bank holidays.


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## stuaz (Sep 22, 2012)

Carol king said:


> Excuse me my sister is a widow with a part time job only, and the dog didn't have health issues it was an accident that her daughters dog and my sisters dog were playing and as the other dog landed her paw on the other dogs head as she dragged it down her claw caught the pugs eye which bled they rushed to another vet which was closing and they told her to take her to a pdsa vet, my sister did not presume they wouldn't charge her but didn't think they would charge an arm and leg and £2345 is a bloody joke, and even told her to,go to her own vet for follow up care, after paying that much money I would expect them to care for the dog after don't you!! So l won,t be supporting them any longer!!!!


Did your sister qualify for the PDSA?

Also if your not registered with them then any emergency care is charged normally.

Sounds like at most there was maybe some miscommunications here rather than anything more sinister.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Carol king said:


> Excuse me my sister is a widow with a part time job only, and the dog didn't have health issues it was an accident that her daughters dog and my sisters dog were playing and as the other dog landed her paw on the other dogs head as she dragged it down her claw caught the pugs eye which bled they rushed to another vet which was closing and they told her to take her to a pdsa vet, my sister did not presume they wouldn't charge her but didn't think they would charge an arm and leg and £2345 is a bloody joke, and even told her to,go to her own vet for follow up care, after paying that much money I would expect them to care for the dog after don't you!! So l won,t be supporting them any longer!!!!


It sounds like the PDSA is the base for the local out of hours, and as it was out of hours and emergency they will have a higher charge rate than during normal hours at a normal vets, they also should and probably would have explained this to your sister at the time, I know if I phone my out of hours vet they will tell me that is a £130 apx just to turn up and have them see my animal and any treatment will cost extra on top of that.

I'm sorry your sisters dog has been injured and I hope it makes a good recovery, but bad mouthing the PDSA and holding them to blame doesn't seem right or correct, sorry.


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

I think your complaint is with an OOH provider, not the PDSA. I suspect you're thinking of a popular OOH provider who sometimes utilise the PDSA's facilities after hours (but otherwise have nothing to do with them).


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## Lexiedhb (Jun 9, 2011)

Carol king said:


> Excuse me my sister is a widow with a part time job only, and the dog didn't have health issues it was an accident that her daughters dog and my sisters dog were playing and as the other dog landed her paw on the other dogs head as she dragged it down her claw caught the pugs eye which bled they rushed to another vet which was closing and they told her to take her to a pdsa vet, my sister did not presume they wouldn't charge her but didn't think they would charge an arm and leg and £2345 is a bloody joke, and even told her to,go to her own vet for follow up care, after paying that much money I would expect them to care for the dog after don't you!! So l won,t be supporting them any longer!!!!


What did they actually do to the dog? Operations can run into the thousands but if this was a straightforward stitch up job then yes that does sound steep. Assuming it was not at midnight on Christmas eve or something way more complicated that has not been explained


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## moomoo10 (May 10, 2012)

To qualify for the Blackpool PDSA Hospital services you need to be in the catchment area and be in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.


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## AlexPed2393 (Oct 5, 2016)

Being charged extra for OOH is perfectly fine in my opinion, even when we had to take in our cat for a urinary tract issue at 11:30pm. It cost us £145 but then again who wants to be the vet in that situation seeing a giant grumpy cat at near enough midnight.


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## Lexiedhb (Jun 9, 2011)

AlexPed2393 said:


> Being charged extra for OOH is perfectly fine in my opinion, even when we had to take in our cat for a urinary tract issue at 11:30pm. It cost us £145 but then again who wants to be the vet in that situation seeing a giant grumpy cat at near enough midnight.


Absolutely!!! I think people forget that vets have spent a fortune, and worked their butts off at uni, someone (the practise) has had to buy the building/equipment/drugs/ overnight facilities - list is endless, employ staff, supply gas, electric, water and then drag themselves out of bed (probably after a long tiring day) to deal with our emergencies at 2am!!! - I would DEFO want paying well for that!!


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## AlexPed2393 (Oct 5, 2016)

Lexiedhb said:


> Absolutely!!! I think people forget that vets have spent a fortune, and worked their butts off at uni, someone (the practise) has had to buy the building/equipment/drugs/ overnight facilities - list is endless, employ staff, supply gas, electric, water and then drag themselves out of bed (probably after a long tiring day) to deal with our emergencies at 2am!!! - I would DEFO want paying well for that!!


Poor girl looked half asleep but she did a good job, took her time with the cat, didn't rush us out, answered all our questions, gave us several options for treatment, pros, cons the lot and she was the first vet to look confident handling Joe


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