Terms and conditions

Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice - Terms and Conditions

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice. This statement details our Practice Terms and Conditions. Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if needed.

Fees

All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the drugs, materials, consumables and diets used. A detailed fee note is available for every consultation, surgical procedure and transaction with us. We reserve the right to charge for missed appointments.

Methods of Payment

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of the pet or upon collection of diets/drugs. You may settle your account using:

CASH
CHEQUE with current Banker card
CREDIT/DEBIT CARD - Switch, Solo, MasterCard, Visa, Delta.

Estimates of Treatment Costs

We will happily provide a written estimate as the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate often a pet`s illness will not follow a conventional course.

Settlement Terms

Should the account not be settled within 28 days, then a reminder will be sent and we reserve the right to charge an additional accounting fee in respect of the administrative costs incurred. Should it be necessary for additional reminders to be sent, further charges will be incurred. After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be referred to our Debt Collecting Agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt: such as production of reports, calls, home visits etc. Any cheque returned by our Bank as unpaid, any Credit Card payment not honoured and any Cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges being added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs.

Inability to Pay

If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter, as soon as possible with a member of staff. Please note that instalments or part-payments of any account may ONLY be sanctioned with the express permission of Helen Stephens or Grant Smith.

Pet Health Insurance

Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. We are not qualified to provide financial advice on individual insurance policies. If your pet is insured, you have consented to us providing that insurance company with a copy of your animal’s clinical history on request. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then reclaim fees from your Insurance Company. Some insurance claims we may, solely at our discretion, choose to settle directly with an insurance company. This is not an automatic right and we reserve the right to charge a fee for this service. In this event you may be required to pay a deposit up front and will remain liable for any and all outstanding fees not settled by the insurance company.

Complaints and Standards

We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice. However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, please direct your comments, in writing, in the first instance to Helen Stephens or Grant Smith.

Ownership of Records

Case records including radiographs and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice. Copies of a summary of the history will be passed on by request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.

Ownership of Radiographs and Similar Records

The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example, taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting the results, ownership of the resulting record, for example, a radiograph remains the property of the Practice.

Out-of-Hours Emergencies

The Practice provides an out-of-hours service for emergencies in partnership with Milford Veterinary Hospital. They are an independent veterinary practice who have access to your pet’s clinical records if required. This can be accessed by telephoning us as normal and the call will diverted automatically if we are closed. We have been working with Milford Veterinary Hospital since March 2017 and are confident in the high standard of caring service they provide is similar to that which you would expect from Hunters Lodge.

Hospitalised Animals Out-of-Hours

Animals which are hospitalised at Hunters Lodge outside normal working hours are checked and treated according to their clinical needs but not necessarily continuously monitored. High-dependency cases may be transferred to Milford Veterinary Hospital or referred to a specialist for continuous monitoring if required; in this circumstance you may be asked to arrange transport for your pet.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The practice supports a zero tolerance policy against any abuse, verbal or physical, directed towards any members of staff.

The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) defines work-related violence as:
Violence and aggression towards a person may also be defined as:
REMOVAL FROM THE PRACTICE LIST
The removal of clients from our list is an exceptional and rare event. We value and respect good client relationships based on mutual respect and trust but if any of our team is subjected to any abuse, verbal or physical, we will ask you to leave the practice with 7 days notice. An exception to this is in the case of immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

DATA PRIVACY NOTICE

Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice

1. Your personal data – what is it?

Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s (our) possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is now governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).

2. Who are we?

Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice is the data controller (contact details below). This means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

3. How do we process your personal data?

Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice complies with its obligations under the “GDPR” by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

We use your personal data for the following purposes: -

* To enable us to provide a high quality, consistent clinical care;

* To maintain clinical records;

* To manage our employees and work placement staff;

* To maintain our own accounts and records;

* To fulfil our legal obligations;

* To provide appointment reminders;

* To provide reminders for repeat treatments and vaccinations;

* To inform you of news, events, activities and services of Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice;

* To enable continuity of care at relevant referral or other first opinion practices caring for your animal.

* To enable processing and submission of pet insurance claims.

4. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

* Processing your data is primarily conducted for ‘performance of a contract’ to provide you with veterinary services.

* Your data is also processed where there is a ‘legitimate interest’ for reminders where your requirement of a service is anticipated e.g. appointment, vaccination or other treatment reminders, changes to our terms and conditions or privacy notice.

* Processing is also necessary for carrying out our ‘legal obligations’ under employment, social security or social protection law, or a collective agreement;

* ‘Consent’ is sought so that we can keep you informed about activities and services of Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice.

* Processing is carried out by us provided: -

o the processing relates to clients, former clients (or those who have contact with us in connection with those clients), staff; and

o there is no disclosure of your data to third parties without consent or reasonable justification (see 5.).

5. Sharing your personal data Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other parties (Data Controllers) where there is reasonable justification; for the purposes of processing a pet insurance claim, providing continuity of care, arranging a veterinary referral, fulfilling our legal obligations or debt collection your data maybe passed to that relevant third party. In other circumstances will only share your data with third parties with your consent. It will not normally be stored or shared outside of the EEA.

6. How long do we keep your personal data? We store client records for 20 years after the last entry. Employment records are stored 7 years following termination of employment. Ionising radiation (x-ray) exposure records are stored for 50 years.

7. Your rights and your personal data

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: -

* The right to request a copy of your personal data which Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice holds about you;

* The right to request Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;

* The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice to retain such data;

* The right to withdraw consent to direct marketing at any time;

* The right to request that Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice transmit your data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), (where applicable);

* The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;

* The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable);

* The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

Providing your basic personal data (name, address, telephone number) is mandatory for us to provide you with a service. Without the mandatory information we can only provide basic emergency treatment. Providing an email address or other personal data is voluntary.

Data such as contact information and clinical records obtained from a third party (e.g. another veterinary practice or referral centre) may be collected and will be processed as if we had collected it directly.

8. Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing, setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

9. Contact Details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints please in the first instance contact the Practice in writing to Hunters Lodge Veterinary Practice, 1 Mapledrakes Road, Ewhurst, Surrey, GU6 7RG or electronically through our website.

You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.

Variations in Terms of Trading

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by Helen Stephens or Grant Smith. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the Practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.