the rising cost of vet fees

 A customer recently mentioned to me that they took their dog to see their local vet because the dog had a gunky eye. The appointment was over within 5 minutes and they were charged £40 for the privilege of the vet telling them 'It's nothing serious so just bathe it several times a day'.

My first thought was 'This is absolutely scandalous' but then there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Our pets are special to us and from previous experience with Snoop and Poppy we have paid out our fair share in vet fees. Several times over the years we have seen them limp, get a gunky eye or just lately Snoop's neck appeared very red and our first thought is 'When do we take them to the vets' and secondly 'How much is this going to cost'.
Consultation fees at most vets are extortionate these days ranging between £25 and £40 just for a quick 5 minute appointment and these people are meant to be caring professionals but alot of the time they only seem to care about how much money they can take from you.
Yes I understand it's a difficult and highly important job but surely a line has to be drawn somewhere ie depending on the severity of the issue but no it's pretty much a flat fee of up to £40 to get in the door whether Fido has a weird looking spot or a gash in his leg.
We recently changed vets because we were not happy with a few things that were going on and the level of professionalism wasn't what we expected. The waiting room was cramped, the treatment room was also the same and the dogs just didn't seem happy anymore. That and every time we visited there seemed to be a new member of staff on duty and others who we had seen previously left the company. 
They had a health plan where you paid a monthly fee and received things like vaccinations, flea treatment, worming products and 1 free consultation a year. When we first took it out we thought it was a pretty good deal but then we thought 'Hang on a minute once we get that 1 free consultation we still have to pay around £30 a visit'.
​Luckily for us a big brand new shiny vets hadn't long opened just abit further away and after abit of research we decided to move to them. And the added bonus was they also have a health plan for a monthly fee which although it is a little bit more expensive you get free consultations with your monthly payment, as well as a whole host of other benefits.
Changing vets can be a daunting prospect because you want someone you can trust and someone who will take great care of your pet but it also comes to down prices. The prices continue to go up but does the level of care also improve to accommodate it?? Personally I would say no and something needs to be done about it.