4 days ago
Vet who 'permanently injured' dog by leaving surgical instrument in its body after op is allowed to keep working - as campaigners say complaints are ignored
A vet who 'permanently injured' a beloved dog by leaving a surgical instrument in its body after an operation has been allowed to continue working - as campaigners accuse industry bodies of ignoring their complaints.
Trace Brown, from East Lothian, took her dog Honey to the vets for an operation - but Honey was left seriously ill after she was closed up with the instrument inside her.
The mistake meant Honey ended up losing 16 inches of her intestine.
Ms Brown had to pay £12,000 for corrective treatment for Honey, but no action has been taken against the vet in question, while she has been offered just £120 in compensation.
It comes as an investigation by Which? has revealed pet owners are frequently dismissed or ignored when they complain about a vet, and that the industry complaints system is 'not fit for purpose'.
According to government research, the vet market has the third lowest rate of positive resolutions to 'detrimental' experiences, with just 31 percent of people receiving what they asked for or more.
This is compared to 52 percent across all sectors.
Ms Brown took Honey's case to the Veterinary Client Mediation Service (VCMS) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), but received the offer of just £120 and her complaint remained unresolved.
It is one of multiple cases flagged by Which? in which a pet owner complained with a legitimate grievance but was not offered appropriate help.
The College also dismissed a complaint by Steph Drew, from Lincoln, after a vet operated on the wrong leg of her dog Daisy.
After a lengthy appeals process lasting three years, the vet in question was eventually struck off after it was found they had 'failed to provide adequate care' to 18 animals in total.
The report comes as the Competition and Markets Authority is already investigating the vet industry amid concerns that just six national operators - of which three are equity firms - own most of Britain's practices.
Which? surveyed around 1,000 pet owners who had had an issue with care from their vet in the past two years.
Some 53 percent of those surveyed complained over an 'excessive' price, compared to 23 percent over the quality of care or treatment.
Pet owners usually have to make an initial complaint to the veterinary practice itself, a practice which makes the process 'awkward at best', according to Which?.
If not satisfied with the outcome, an owner can escalate the complaint, such as by referring it to an independent mediator - but the is a voluntary scheme which not all practices are members of.
They can also complain to the Royal College, but the body has a very high threshold for investigating and progressing a complaint.
This leaves owners feeling dismissed or that the process is biased towards vets, the consumer body found.
Wherever owners may turn, the stats are not in their favour - in 2022, some 99 percent of professional misconduct complaints were not upheld.
Which? has made a number of recommendations to improve the process for owners, including asking the government to ensure the regulator for vet services is 'sufficiently equipped to independently enforce consumer law as it relates to the provision of veterinary services'.
It added: 'The government needs to update the regulatory framework to allow regulation at a practice level rather than solely at individual professional level.'
The body also said practices should be required to have a written complaint process 'based on specified criteria to ensure consistency in how complaints are defined, handled and signposted'.
