This year we had over 130 practices reply to the fees survey.
Top 3 points to note:
1. A 10% increase in consult fees and preventative care fees for cats, dogs and farm animals (This is a similar percentage to salary increases for vets and nurses)
2. The CMA were interested in prescriptions charges (4% increase this year to £18.75 exl VAT), injection fee charges (£8.70 exl VAT) and dispensing charges (£6 excl VAT)
3. Surprisingly there are many reductions in fees across small animal and equine: For small animals 10% reduction in surgical time, fees and diagnostics. For equine a reduction of between 5 and 25% for things such as endoscopy, ultrasound, blood sampling, sedation for clipping/dentals.
SPVS are interested to see if the reduction in fees, increased cost of living and increased national insurance costs will have an impact on salary reviews in the coming year (SPVS will be running the salary survey in April 2025). SPVS are also interested and playing a proactive approach as to how the CMA review will unfold. SPVS believes transparency and financial education for staff and clients will no doubt be a prime focus.