Referrals are arranged through your usual veterinary practice. We do not accept referrals directly from pet owners and we only give advice to referring veterinary surgeons on cases that have not yet been referred.

Your usual vets will contact us once they have assessed your pet, and this can be done via telephoning us or completing the online referral form on our website. If an urgent referral is required, your vet will need to contact us directly by telephone. Once we have received referral from your vets, we will then contact you directly to arrange the appointment. Our vets carry out their consultations in the mornings to allow for procedures to be carried out throughout the day.

Once an appointment has been made, we will email you confirmation of the appointment and any extra information you may need e.g. directions.

To help explain some of the procedures and conditions that we regularly perform and see at Bath Vet Referrals, our clinicians have created information sheets to help give further clarification and explanation. Please click here to view our collection of information sheets.

Unless advised otherwise, you should ensure that your pet has no food after midnight the evening before your appointment & that water is available all times. Any ongoing medication can be given to your pet as normal unless advised otherwise, and please bring any medication your pet is on with you on the day of the referral appointment. Please remember to bring any x-rays or notes if your vet has asked you to. Please ensure you bring along any signed insurance documents, if applicable. Please see section below on What are the payment and insurance options?

• Large on site carpark including a disabled access space
• Wheelchair access to the building
• Toilet facilities that are wheel accessible
• Drink station
• Free Wifi
• Designated dog toileting area

Please report to reception approximately 10 minutes prior to appointment to go through the necessary insurance forms and deposits.

We require a deposit from insured patients or down payment from non insured patients on admission for all new referral cases, please read ‘What are the payment and insurance options’ for further details.

There is a drink station available in the reception waiting area.

Consultation

During the consultation, the referral vet will take a detailed history of your pet’s medical history, along with details of the current problem. A thorough clinical examination will be carried out and any further tests, additional imaging or treatment will be discussed with you. Pets may go home after the initial consult with suggested treatment or management plans; however most pets will be admitted for further tests, additional imaging or surgery. Some patients undergoing investigations and the majority of patients undergoing surgical procedures will be hospitalised overnight.

Dropping off pets for procedures

Some pets who have been seen previously or have had prior investigations, will be admitted by a qualified referral nurse. Pets coming in for outpatient procedures such as MRI and /or CT scans will also be admitted by a referral nurse.

Bath Vet Referrals employs a team of highly qualified clinicians who are assisted by an excellent referral nursing team and specialist equipment; we also have qualified vets on site 24 hours a day and referral clinicians on call evenings and weekends. This means that are prices are towards the higher end of the price range for veterinary treatment. It is possible you may be able to find veterinary practices who can offer treatment for a lower cost; however, they won’t be able to provide the same facilities, detailed investigation, support and care for you and your pet.

While we endeavour to provide you with estimates of costs, this is not always easy without seeing your pet first. Please remember that estimates are not ‘quotes’, but we will never do anything for your pet without consulting you first, unless we fell it is important to do so in their best interests.

Insured clients:

If your pet is insured, we will usually be able to claim directly from your insurance company. To be able to process a direct claim we will need a signed claim form with the relevant sections completed & your policy number on the day of the appointment.

We request a deposit of £500 which covers your policy excess, a £30 admin we charge for processing your claim direct and anything extra your insurance might not cover. Please note that insurance policies vary and offer different types of cover for your pet. All insurance companies will ask for a fixed excess at the beginning of your pets’ treatment, but some will also ask for a co-payment towards the treatment cost. Please check your policy carefully before your appointment. This deposit will be refunded to you once we receive settlement in full from your insurance company minus the above. We can only accept Direct Claims from insurance companies on our 'approved' list. If you are at all worried, please contact our referral administrator or a member of our reception team who will be able to help. 

Where possible we will ask for a pre authorisation to be carried out prior to your referral consultation. This allows us to know in advance whether treatment will be fully covered, partially covered or not covered by your insurance. In order for a pre authorisation to be carried out, we will need to know who your pet is insured with and the policy number. If a pre authorisation is carried out and approved, we will reduce the £500 deposit to £250.

Please note that not all insurance company’s offer pre authorisations.

Non-insured clients:

If your pet is not insured, we ask for payment at the time of consultations or if your pet is admitted for any procedures or treatment we will require a down payment of 50% of the estimated cost of treatment. The full account balance must be paid in full at the time your pet is discharged.

We accept cash, most debit cards and credit cards. We are not able to accept American Express or cheques. We can take card payments over the phone or payment can be made on our website by clicking here. We are also happy to accept BACS payments.

Things to do in the Bath Area:

• The famous Roman Baths
• Bath Abbey
• Shopping in the main town

Museums

• The Holburne Museum
• Fashion Museum
• No.1 Royal Crescent

Places to stay that are Pet Friendly:

Holiday Inn Express

• Bath Lower Bristol Road, Brougham Hayes, North East Somerset, Bath, BA2 3QU, United Kingdom
• 1.9 miles to Bath Vet Referrals

Hilton Bath City

• Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BJ, United Kingdom 
• 2.2 miles to Bath Vet Referrals

Travelodge Bath City Centre Hotel

• 6-10 Westgate Buildings, Bath BA1 1EB England
• 2.1 miles to Bath Vet Referrals

The Rose & Crown & The Charterhouse Coffee Shop

• High Street, Hinton Charterhouse, Bath BA2 7SN England
• 3.9 miles to Bath Vet Referrals

Places to Eat:

Sainsbury Café

• Frome Road, Bath BA2 5RF
• Within walking distance of BVR

3 Café Kitchen

• Three Ways School, Frome Road, Bath, BA2 5RF
• Within walking distance of BVR

Red Lion

• 468 Wellsway Bath BA2 2UA
• Within walking distance of BVR
• Variety of restaurants and cafes in Bath city centre

Parking and Public Transport in Bath:

• Local Odd Down Park & Ride
• Local buses (bus stop outside BVR on opposite side of the road)

Avon street carpark within city centre

• 34 Corn St, Bath BA1 1UF

Southgate carpark within city centre

• Southgate St, Bath BA1 1TP

Disclaimer; we are not affiliated with any of the listed business and attractions, please do not consider this a recommendation.

Visits are available for long stay patients. Please arrange directly with the referral vet or through referral admin.

Pets will normally be discharged within our normal opening hours 8:30 am - 6.30 pm. They will be discharge with either the referral vet or referral nurse depending on previous discussions with the vet. You will receive feedback from the referral vet either by phone or at time of discharge. Written discharge instructions will be given to you with the investigation findings, instructions regarding medication and when rechecks are required. 

We will send a referral report and any other relevant reports to your normal vet within 4 workings days.

If you require a repeat prescription for your pet’s medication, please contact your usual (first opinion) veterinary practice. If your usual veterinary practice is unable to source the medication, you can contact us for the repeat prescription. We can provide you with the medication or a written prescription for you to source the medication elsewhere. Written prescriptions are charged at £25. Medication can be posted and will incur a postage fee. Medication, written prescriptions and/or postage must be paid before being sent out.

We require 24-48 hours for all repeat prescription requests.

Please note for pets on long term medication, regular check-ups and re-examinations are required. This is normally every 6 months; however, certain medications require re-examinations more regularly, and for some we may recommend repeat blood tests.

Please note it is not possible for the referral vet to discuss cases with owners prior to the initial consult, though we do provide support and advice for referring vets.

If after a procedure or treatment you are concerned at all we have a vet available 24/7 to discuss. They may not be familiar with your pet’s case but they can offer initial advice and should your pet’s problem be more serious, our referral clinicians are on call, and the vet will be able to contact them and get them to call you back to discuss the problem. In some cases, we may see your pet here, or we may suggest you see your local vet who will be nearer.

Overnight inpatient care for referral patients is provided by our out of hours partner Vets Now, who are also based at Rosemary Lodge Veterinary Hospital, in conjunction with our on call referral clinicians.