Hellopeter
Share Your Experience
AK
Anja K

1 reviews | Active since Jan 2016

31 Oct 2018, 13:59

Greenside Animal Hospital - all about the money

I brought my daschshund into Greenside Animal Hospital after he was hit by a car outside our premises. He was in a very bad way. The vet took Xrays and administered medication and then advised that they were not a 24 hours hospital and that I needed to decide if I wanted to put him down or take him to the Fourways Animal Hospital. I decided to take him to Fourways Animal Hospital as I was just not willing to give up on him so quickly. I walked out of the vet's room, holding my stiff, bleeding dog and the receptionist called the helper at Greenside Animal Hospital to see me to my car, to help me open the car door. As I had no free hands as I was carrying my bleeding Dachshund, the receptionist at no point said, Please put down your dog and make payment. She understood I was referred to Fourways Animal Hospital as they were closing.

When I arrived at Fourways Animal Hospital, the doctor checked for information on the referral i.e. the X-rays that had been taken at Greenside Animal Hospital and the medication that had already been administered so that the vet could pick up from there.

Unfortunately nothing came through from Greenside Animal Hospital, no Xrays and no information on medication administered. The vet explained that unfortunately meant re-doing the Xrays and not being able to administer further medication due to having no knowledge of what was given already. The vet and I were both upset and shocked that nothing had been sent through.

However after explaining this to Greenside Animal Hospital, they said they would still charge me the full amount. Even though I had to re-pay for the very same Xrays at Fourways and my dog not being able to receive further medication if required, as there was no data given to them by Greenside.

The owner of Greenside Animal Hospital did not care about the service I was given. It was of no concern to him that I had to pay for Xrays again and that the vet had no information from them, even though I was referred by them. All he said to me is that I should have paid on departure, even after explaining to him that the receptionist asked the helper to get me into the car and obviously did not ask me to make payment as it would have meant putting my bleeding lame dog onto the ground.

I am disgusted by the lack of integrity and empathy based on the error that Greenside Animal Hospital made. Surely it is common courtesy to withdraw the bill due to me re-paying for Xrays and the vet not receiving referral info on medication given.

I will not be paying for this bill, based on it being very clear what is right and wrong and there being no room for questioning this matter. Greenside Animal Hospital has lost all my family members and friends as their customers due to this. And instead of making this right, they continue to bully me for the account.

0
Replies (1)
Greenside Animal Hospital
Greenside Animal Hospital's reply02 Nov 2018, 16:43
Official
Dear Hello Peter. Our motto at Greenside Animal Hospital is “Sharing the Care”. We believe that it is a team effort between the vet and the pet owner to look after these wonderful creatures that give us so much joy. There are two sides to the care. On the one side you have us, the veterinary professional and support team who provide dedicated veterinary care in a world class facility with compassionate and competent staff. On the other side there are the pet owners who bring their animals to us, who pay the bills for their pets’ care and assist us in so many respects with home care and treatment. If we do not get paid for our services, we cannot continue to provide them and if owners do not help us to provide the ongoing treatment we recommend for their pets, no matter how good we are, we will not have success in the treatment of their pets. “The one hand washes the other”. 

Ms Kunert accompanied by her ex-husband and daughter brought in Koko, a 9-year-old Dachshund, which was hit by a car, to Greenside Animal Hospital, on the evening of 27 July 2017. Dr Gouws, one of our vets, attended to Koko immediately as he had severe head and body trauma.  Dr Gouws did a chest x-ray to establish the state of the lungs and administered emergency medical treatment immediately. By this time, it was 18h50.  Dr Gouws explained to Ms Kunert that Greenside Animal Hospital provides overnight facilities for sick animals, but that we do not have a 24-hour emergency Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for critically injured patients, which is manned by a veterinarian and veterinary nurse right through the night. Dr Gouws said in light of the severe injuries Koko sustained and the life and death situation this little dog was finding himself in, Ms Kunert may have to euthanise him, alternatively, if there was any chance of “pulling him through”, he would have to be referred to a specialist veterinary facility with a 24-hour ICU unit. He suggested that Ms Kunert take Koko to Bryanston Veterinary Hospital where a further assessment can be done, and full-blown care can be provided through the night, if she wanted any chance of him surviving the night. 

It is customary for our clients to settle their bills upon discharge and Ms Kunert was informed that her previous account was still outstanding. The practice staff requested her to settle her previous account at the same time as paying for this visit. She rep**** that she does not have that much money. Greenside Animal Hospital does not run accounts and the fact that there was an outstanding amount from before, indicates that we already accommodated her previously with veterinary care and treatment without getting paid. 

We felt sorry for Ms Kunert and it was agreed that that she would settle the previous outstanding amount, and sign an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) form for this visit. She received a signed copy of the EFT form and her bill for Koko’s assessment and treatment for this visit. One of our veterinary assistants was holding Koko while Ms Kunert was doing the paper work. She told her ex-husband to take her daughter home and said she was going to get an Uber. 

Ms Kunert took Koko outside the building to wait for the Uber. We presume this is what she refers to in her review stating that she had to hold her bleeding dog. There were bruises and grazes all over Koko’s body and this is where the blood comes from. The veterinary staff at Greenside Animal Hospital would not have discharged an animal with a life-threatening bleeding blood vessel like a severed artery, which is pumping blood. The staff and doctor on duty at Greenside Animal Hospital assumed she was going to take Koko to Bryanston Veterinary Hospital.  The history and clinical findings were sent through to Bryanston Veterinary Hospital. The records were not sent to Fourways Veterinary Hospital, because the recommendation was made that she takes Koko to Bryanston Veterinary Hospital. We were never informed that she intended, or decided, to take Koko to Fourways Veterinary Hospital until she refused to pay her outstanding account at Greenside Animal Hospital. 

Our request to Ms Kunert is simply that that she settles the fees she incurred with us at Greenside Animal Hospital at the time she brought in Koko. We really do have sympathy for the fact that there was another layer of costs involved once she took Koko to a 24-hour veterinary facility, but somehow it goes without saying that this would be the case. If your doctor refers you to a hospital for an emergency appendicectomy, the hospital does not give you a discount, because you had to see your doctor first to make the diagnosis, and do the assessment as to what the next step in your treatment and care needs to be.  It is absurd to expect that the GP who saw you originally is not allowed to charge you a consultation fee, or charge you for whatever diagnostic procedure he or she deemed necessary, to make the decision to refer you a hospital for the next step in your treatment.