Medivet Woolwich

We only bring our dog down to London a few times a year, and so we don’t have a regular local vet. After we suspected he had swallowed some plastic, we called Medivet Woolwich, and they were SO helpful. The receptionist was very friendly and calming and knew what to do, speaking to the vet immediately and informing us how long it would take to arrive, as they were prepared to see us straight away. Fortunately, it ended up being a false alarm, so we didn’t end up receiving veterinary care this time; but it is good to know that we have such an amazing practice nearby with excellent staff! Our thanks to all involved!

I’m really sorry to have to write this, and I generally give others the benefit of doubt, but it’s only fair for other pet owners to learn of my experience with this vet, for which they can judge themselves whether it is useful or not.

I first booked for an appointment for my cat last Friday, and received a text message confirmation for it. When we arrived at the vet, we were turned away because they were dealing with an emergency and were told to call again on Monday. That’s fine, but there are 2 issues: 1. Why couldn’t we rebook there and then? 2. Why did they not inform us before we made the trip over there? It was a waste of our time and a stressful experience for our already sick cat.

On Monday, I called to make an appointment, and was told to come in on Tuesday at 4pm. It’s my work day but because we didn’t want to delay further (it’s been 4 days already) so I booked the day off to make the appointment. This time, I did not receive a text message confirmation.

For this second appointment, I called on the day to confirm because I didn’t want to be turned away again, only to find out that my slot had not been booked in. I was then told that in any case they couldn’t see my cat because the vet is off sick for the afternoon.

Throughout all the interactions, I was repeatedly told to go to the emergency vet if I think it is urgent, which was not really a helpful advice because we aren’t the ones who are professionally trained…?

Now, my personal experience is merely anecdotal, and my impression is that they are unprofessional, disorganised and disrespectful of my time and effort.

I am sure there are other people who have the opposite experience, but I can’t see myself revisiting this vet again.

Used to be a good vets but last appointment the vet was useless didn't have a clue what she was doing didn't give my dog a proper check seemed more interesting in pointing out cost of operations I wouldn't live my dog with such an incompetent person she should be struck off then was charged £43 for her to to nothing utterly useless 😡

I am in the process of making a formal complaint about this vet practice. Without speaking to the legal owner of a dog i.e myself, they have taken the word of a person just caring for it temporarily and put it to sleep without any contact being made with me. We were fully aware that the dog was coming to the end of its life but would have thought they had a duty to contact the legal owner and get their permission to put it to sleep. This has upset the family immensely. Although they have offered to pay for the cremation of the dogs remains this in no way goes towards easing the upset caused by them taking the word of someone who only had temporary care of the dog. I certainly would not recommend this practice to anyone.

Great vet clinic. Paula was very kind arranging a last minute emergency appointment, while other clinics denied that without hearing how ill my puppy was at the time. Vet Anitta was super caring and loving with my dog. It’s so nice to see a vet that truthfully likes what she does.

It has been almost a month that I have been thinking to write a review or not... But I have to for the sakes of future owners and their beloved pets.

We have been with Medivet Woolwich for years, specifically with Dr. Vanessa who was always very attentive and the one who diagnose our rescue dog Naga with kidney failure, skin problems and depression due to her trauma and life in Romania. Dr. Vanessa was very on point with us and Naga. However, when Dr. Vanessa moved to Central London, Medivet has not been the same. Since September the new doctor just had a quick look at Naga, and didn’t even check
Naga’s body or do any tests (blood work). The new doctor only followed the notes Dr. Vanessa had left. Ever since the new doctor arrived it has been more and more difficult to try to have any appointment or get through by phone with the vet. This is simply not acceptable.

In December 2021 Naga was struggling more and more due to her diarrhea, we thought that maybe after a week it would stop with some antibiotics (as every now and then she gets sick). Still, when we saw that it didn't stop after a week we tried to call Medivet for an appointment as soon as possible. The thing is, during that whole week, from Tuesday to Friday, we tried to call MEDIVET from 14th December until the 17th EVERY MORNING and AFTERNOON, as Naga wasn’t getting any better and was drastically worsening. NO ONE PICKED UP THE PHONE, NO ONE REPLIED BACK TO OUR EMAILS. Their voicemail jumped saying they were closed, when obviously it was during the opening hours? 9am to 6:45pm Monday to Friday.

We didn’t know if Naga’s illness was becoming an emergency matter so we tried to contact PDSA so they could check her but they couldn't see her without Naga's vet history as she was under constant treatment. We tried again to contact Medivet to at least send the paperwork. OBVIOUSLY NO ONE REPLIED.

The morning of Saturday 18th... We were woken up by Naga's screams of pain... she got way worse within hours. Our house was full of vomit and diarrhoea. The pain she was in was horrific. We again contacted Medivet: NOTHING, we called the Emergency Practice Services they provided in their Website. NO ONE PICKED UP! ALL CLOSED. We end up searching for an online vet that could come to the house.

Naga started to vomit blood after hours of screaming in agony. We knew that this was becoming a very serious matter. ALL BECAUSE MEDIVET WAS SO UNORGANISED AND DIDN’T INFORM THEIR CLIENTS THAT THEY CHANGED THEIR HOURS.

We took a taxi that Saturday morning and went to the PDSA Emergency Hospital in Abbey Wood and they confirmed it was her kidney failure and that she was in inmense pain. THERE WAS NO SAVING HER. PDSA had the empathy and compassion to take us in. They told us that sadly Naga has to be put down. PDSA let us both be with her until her last second in this world.

We are so furious, and frustrated with Medivet Woolwich. We paid a full plan insurance special for our dog which wasn't cheap, we trusted them. Their disorganisation and poor excuses caused our dog to suffer immensely and horribly. In our opinion Medivet Woolwich killed our dog. This is not about money, this is about trust and being respectful and responsible.

We called on Monday 20th of December to cancel Naga’s health plan. What was the surprise? THEY FINALLY PICKED UP THE PHONE. TOO DAMN LATE. What was their excuse? They don't have a permanent vet and that is the reason they kept it closed. THEN WHY DIDN’T THEY INFORM US? They were blaming Dr. Vanessa for not letting us now she was leaving, that was 2 months prior she left? Why didn’t their emergency contact work either? What about the emails? Why didn’t they call us or message us to let us know?

It breaks our heart to know how much our dog was struggling in silence. We were desperate for help and Medivet Woolwich is the most unreliable place to be. We don’t want any other dogs and owners too suffer the lost we feel. Please to everyone who is registered to Medivet, please stay away from them, it was our biggest regret and mistake to trust them.

The care for my pets was second to none. So kind, caring and professional. I feel that my pets are in safe hands. The receptionist (my first point of contact) was welcoming, informative and very friendly. I think her name is Paula. I look forward to meeting them all again for the next treatments. A lovely experience for my pets and I.

My pet is treated well and her well being is upper most in the vets care. I was asked if I wanted to join the pet club where you pay monthly by direct debit and this includes flea and worming treatment plus a six monthly health check. I took them up on this offer and my pet was recently called for her 6 month check up. Everything is fine and I was given her next 6 months of flea and worming treatment to save me going back and forth to the vets.