Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons is committed to providing world-class equine veterinary care and client satisfaction is a priority.
Our aim is to provide you and your horse with the best possible service and care. We welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions so that we can endeavour to improve and enhance our service to be best suited to client needs.
Whilst we strive to provide your horse with the best possible standard of care, we recognise that on occasion you may feel that we don’t get it right. Often at the heart of many problems is miscommunication, so if you do have a concern, please discuss this with us at the first opportunity.
Raising a concern informally
If you have encountered any problems with our services, please let us know:
- In general, if you have a concern, it is best to raise it as soon as possible. This will make it easier for us to investigate and to resolve the matter, which may still be on-going.
- In the first instance, tell the vet in charge of your horse’s care so that they can try to resolve your concern there and then.
- If the vet is unavailable, please raise your concern with a member of our team, who will be happy to help and direct you to the most appropriate manager.
- If we are unable to resolve your concern at the time, or if you feel it needs to be escalated, you are welcome to contact us and, if possible, we will deal with your complaint directly.
- If any of our employees were involved in the matter you wish to raise, it would be helpful if you can provide us with their names.
- If you have a complaint about any other aspect of our service, we also wish to hear from you.
Queries regarding fees and charges
If you have any cause to query an estimate, fees charged or an invoice following provision of a service, please contact our accounts team who will be happy to explain the fees on your estimate or invoice. If you feel you have cause to dispute the fees on your invoice, please send written notice to our Credit Controller within 7 days of receiving your invoice. Details of our payment Terms and Conditions of Business can be found here.
Making a formal complaint
Whilst we aim to resolve concerns informally in the first instance, there may be occasion when this has not been possible. If necessary, we may require you to write to us setting out your complaint in as much detail as possible; this will certainly be the case for more complex or serious concerns.
Please address all correspondence to our Business Director or Managing Clinical Director. It would be helpful to provide the following information:
- Your name, address and convenient contact telephone number and email
- The name of your horse and the date it was seen relevant to this complaint
- The name of the attending vet and, where relevant, which of our sites you visited
- A brief description of your concerns and any additional details to help us understand the situation
- A summary of what, in your opinion, we can do to best deal with your concerns
Complaints process
Once we have received your complaint, we will acknowledge receipt and log it on our complaints register. We will investigate the situation surrounding the complaint and will respond either by phone or in writing as quickly as possible. We might need to contact you for further information. We may need to conduct interviews with you and/or members of our practice.
We will inform you of any decision that is made regarding your complaint as soon as possible. In normal circumstances, we would aim to have addressed your complaint and responded within 14-28 days of receipt.
Dissatisfied with the outcome
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our complaints process, you are welcome to contact us again within 14 days, so that we can review the handling of your complaint and ensure that it has been dealt with consistently and fairly.
Complaint escalation
Unfortunately, on occasion we may not be able to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction within our practice and in such circumstances, you may wish to have your complaint escalated for review by a more senior manager within our company group.
Requests for review will only be considered once complaints have already been investigated and responded to in accordance with the practice complaints procedure as most complaints can be best resolved within the practice. Communication regarding escalated complaints will normally be in writing only. Complaints Manager, VetPartners, Spitfire House, Aviator Court, Clifton Moor, York YO30 4UZ. complaint.manager@vetpartners.co.uk
Alternatively, you may wish to request mediation with our practice via the Veterinary Client Mediation Service .
You are free to contact the RCVS if you feel that there has been any potential professional misconduct or breach of duty on our part. Information regarding this procedure and the veterinary mediation service can be found on the RCVS website. Alternatively, you can complain to our professional regulator, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AF
Complaints about other service providers
In the event that your complaint relates to a service that we have informed you about, such as physiotherapy, cremation or a referral treatment that was not provided by Rossdales employees, we would ask you to direct the complaint to the relevant service provider. If you are unsure as to whom to contact, please ask a member of our reception team and they can clarify to whom the complaint should be directed. We would also appreciate you keeping us informed of the outcome.
General feedback
We welcome feedback and general comments about our services, standards of care and your experiences as a client. You can email our local teams or complete the Client Feedback form at one of our practices.
Thank you for taking the time to give us your thoughts.