Multiple spots of Blood and clumps of fur in the exam room... But that's not all…read more
I brought my puppy, Millie, in for evaluation and treatment for chocolate, coins, and Zrytec ingestion. My experience was as follows (I am a RN, specializing in Infection Control, for context):
We arrived at approx. 9:30pm and was asked what was wrong. I gave the summary of what Millie had eaten to the female vet tech and she got a verbal auth to induce vomiting for an estimated cost of $350. I asked for what the x ray cost would be if it were needed and was not given an answer. She just said the doc needed to see what was in the vomit before making any other recommendations. I was taken by a separate male vet tech to a waiting room around the corner from the main lobby hallway. I waited and after 15-20 minutes the vet came in to show me the vomit and discuss findings. Vet said vomit was mostly food and not showing signs of coins, meds, or chocolate. Just a few pieces of plastic from the M&M bag. The vet said he wanted to do SQ fluids and charcoal. He did not mention needing X-rays. After he left the room I was left waiting for 10 minutes. That's when I notice multiple spots of blood on the mat on the scale in front of me. I take photos and videos of the room. The male tech comes back to explain charges. Suddenly the bill is $850~, having added 400$ x rays that 1) Hadn't been done yet, and 2) Was not recommended to me by the vet during the explanation of his findings. I tell the vet tech that I do not want the x rays, and that I want to know what is more important (vets opinion) between the charcoal and SQ fluids (each 100$). At this point I told the vet tech I noticed the blood on the mat that was on the scale in front of me and asked "What are you going to do about the blood on the scale?". I emphasized that this was a major infection control violation, given that one of the drops was still liquid, meaning it was from a dog that recently was seen in the same exam room. Any other dog could step in the blood and become infected with the diseases of the last potentially sick animal. After further haggling, and being offered $100 discount I was left alone in the room, still with the blood for another 25 minutes. No staff came to clean it at any point in my time there, even after I pointed it out. I continued looking and discovered a separate drop of dried blood on the tile. After a 25 min wait in silence I heard a Knock and the male vet tech who had brought me in the room in the first place, and whom I had disputed service prices with, said "you're good to go" and walked me out, explaining that "I spoke to my practice manager and they have given you a discount" I clarified and said "so it is free, I don't owe you anything for today's services?" And he said "no, this was my fault. I put you in the first room that was available".
So why is Urgent Vet West Plano a TERRIBLE practice???
- Blood identified in MULTIPLE areas of the EXAM room, including a drop of fresh blood, and none of the spots were cleaned up during my time in the room even after pointing them out. This means that staff are not doing even basic cleaning procedures between animals, adding significant risk for a hospital-acquired-infection and showing negligence and laziness of the team not to inspect/clean the exam rooms before new patients/animals are brought in.
- Charges/services inflated above what is needed (ex. X-rays not discussed and I had to ask to see the tablet to see the price when the tech told me the expected total cost, no staff communicated the price for x rays to me even after asking in my first moments in the clinic in the total). Unethical, plain and simple.
- Loose dog hair on scale and clumps of hair next to scale
- Long waiting periods without updates. To my knowledge no one else came in to the practice during our time there, as the exam room I was placed in was immediately next to the front door and walls were thin.
- Treatment team sent the tech in to send me out instead of having management come up and own up to the violation/exposure
- Staff should have come in to clarify the mistake and clearly lay out what else Millie would have done and what would be "discounted"/waived. I never signed anything about what services Millie would be receiving after I made the comment about the blood. I was not informed that they did the SQ/charcoal until the tech had Millie in his hand and was walking me out.
If you value the life of your pet, please choose another practice besides here. I have included a few others that are local that should offer better hygiene and business ethics.
Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County:
10225 Custer Rd, Plano, TX 75025 (214) 547-9900
MedVet Frisco:
7030 Stonebrook Pkwy Suite 100, Frisco, TX 75034 (972) 464-1980
Stay healthy, stay happy
- From a concerned nurse