Drove Veterinary Hospital

Drove Veterinary Hospital in Swindon appears to be part of a wider Drove vet group, with clients describing support for both routine care and more complex cases. Services mentioned by owners include preventive pet-health plans, cat-friendly facilities, neutering, emergency and inpatient care, and end-of-life support. Recent feedback is broadly positive about kindness, handling and communication, though there are also complaints about some out-of-hours experiences, pricing for urgent appointments, and inconsistency in customer care.

Services

•Routine and preventive care: owners mention first vaccinations, health checks, neutering, and structured preventive schemes including Kitten Club and Cat Club.
•Cat-focused care: the main hospital is praised for a separate cat area with carriers and blankets, and one owner said vet Jacoba handled a nervous young cat with notable sensitivity.
•Surgery and clinical communication: one reviewer valued being called during a neuter when a hernia was discovered, with consent requested and possible complications explained clearly.
•Emergency, urgent and inpatient care: reviews mention out-of-hours appointments, treatment after accidents, hospital admission for kidney failure, overnight stays, evening visiting, and regular updates.
•Orthopaedic and wound care: owners refer to an orthopaedic consultation for a dog with leg problems, and another detailed a wound case where the plan changed from debridement and suturing to stapling with follow-up if needed.
•End-of-life care: euthanasia support, time to say goodbye, cremation, and ashes collection are all mentioned in client feedback.

Pricing

Available published prices indicate the clinic sits below average relative to similar practices. Reviews add a mixed picture on value: one long-standing client says the kitten and cat plans offer worthwhile savings, while one recent reviewer felt a Saturday emergency quote was expensive.

People

•Dr Jenny is singled out by one recent reviewer for knowing both owner and dogs well and providing standout care.
•Jacoba, named as a vet, is praised for calm, sensitive handling during a young cat’s first vaccination and health check.
•An unnamed vet is warmly praised for compassionate support during a dog’s euthanasia, including giving the family as much time as they needed to say goodbye.
•Team feedback is mixed at reception level, with one bereaved owner describing an upsetting ashes-collection experience.

Reviews

Google rating: 4.6/5 from 561 reviews.

•Recent positive feedback focuses on kind, attentive care, with particular praise for Dr Jenny, Jacoba, and staff who are described as caring, empathetic and good with nervous pets.
•Owners also value clear communication, especially around consent during procedures, updates during hospital stays, and support during emergencies and overnight admissions.
•Cat owners repeatedly mention the cat-friendly setup and preventive plans such as Kitten Club and Cat Club.
•More critical reviews highlight mixed out-of-hours experiences, one complaint about a high emergency appointment quote, concerns about bedside manner in an orthopaedic consultation, and an upsetting reception interaction during a bereavement-related visit.

Reviews for Drove Veterinary Hospital

Note: Showing the 10 most recent Google reviews out of 561 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.

sharon rylance

3 weeks ago

Rang at lunch time on a Saturday booked an appointment for 3pm. My puppy had ripped his dewclaw. Had a call prior to the appointment and was advised that as it was an emergency there would be a £170 fee plus the consultation fee of £50 plus any additional meds or treatment. Rang another local vet was seen and charged £56 in total.

Kristy Small

Fabulous staff and amazing care for my pups. Dr Jenny is the most amazing! She knows me as much as my dogs. Couldn’t imagine going anywhere else

maddie Green

1 month ago

Right up until yesterday I loves this vets they where amazing with my dog we knew there was something going on with her legs but it was only within the last month she really struggled so booked an appointment with an orthopaedic vet the way I was spoken to was absolutely disgusting okay yes i probably shouldn’t haven’t got her from where I did but I did and that doesn’t change the fact that she was my baby and was very well loved and I did everything I could to give her a good life. The orthopaedic vet made me feel like it was my fault she was the way she was as if I had done it to her to the point I couldn’t even face them when it came time to euthanise her absolutely heartbroken and disappointed as eascott did a 2nd consultation and also noted she had hip dysplasia which the orthapidic vet did not pick up I really think you should invest in your staffs compassion training and customer service skills. Disgusting and disappointed doesn’t even justify his behaviour

Debbie Friend

Have been with drove vets for years. Always have received kind and good service. Have changed vets but have come back to Drove a lovely small veterinary business

Charles Bright

I brought Kaz the young Savannah type cat in for her first vaccinations and health check prior to spaying. She was very nervous at first having been in the car/cat carrier for the first time. Jacoba, the vet, treated her with utmost sensitivity/empathy which quickly calmed her down. Although Kaz made a lot of noise and struggled in trying to break out of the carrier on the drive in, on the drive back home she fell asleep.

Rachel Castle

3 months ago

My family has been with this practice since 1980 from the little red building! I will not use any other vets so my 2 youngest cats had started off in the kitten club then progressed onto the cat club, which is a wonderful saving and keeps my cats in good tip top health. The staff are good with my cats and they cope with me!! I highly recommend Drove vets for its quality of animal care, knowledge, empathy towards animal and human.

Abby

Ive used Drove vets for my previous cat and my current cats. Overall Id say they are a good vets. The separate cat area for carriers and blankets are good at the main hospital. They did miss when my first cat went blind until it was too late and she'd totally lost her sight. But they have also been good when I had to bring her in for emergencies and she was admitted with kidney failure. My current cats are at the Ridgeway Branch, but I had to bring my boy in for his neutering. It turned out he had a hernia and they called me asking for consent and explaining potential complications during the surgery. Ive heard horror stories of other places not asking for consent for things, so Im glad they did that. They also let you visit every evening when they have to stay over and are good at giving updates. The only negative is their out of hours. I dont think they use Vets Now anymore, but they traumatised my boy twice. Now I have to drug him to go to the vets and he'd have to be sedated for any bloods as a result of this. Needless to say I would never let him out of my site at a vets again. But I think they now provide this themselves. Ive since moved out of the area and just ensured my new vets dont use Vets Now. So yeah Id say its a good vets, of course they may miss some things occasionally. But overall Id feel my babies were in safe hands (minus Vets Now).

Iain Gray

When my dog Cooper passed away Tuesday 30 December, The vet was really helpful, friendly, sympathetic and kind she told us to take as long as we wanted to say goodbye to Cooper. Thank you to the vet, so kind. But my experience today Tuesday 6 January at 3.45 pm Was completely different. I went in to pick up Coopers ashes. So obviously it was an upsetting time. At the first desk the lady said a bit abruptly some one will be with you soon, so I went and stood at the other desk, a couple of people walked past and did not interact with me to see if I needed any help. Then a young woman walked to the desk ignored me, sat down and started typing on her computer did not even look at me or asked if I needed any help. Then after about 4 or 5 minutes she asked me if I needed any help. But the way she asked me made me feel that I was interfering with her work or that she didn’t want to be there. I was so disappointed at the lack of customer service/support that I received today. As a retailer myself, I know the importance of customer care, even when I’m having a bad day I always and I mean always greet my customers as soon as they walk in and then thank them and tell them to have a good day when they leave. Don’t bother to ask me to call your customer care manager to discuss this. Because I am so bloody angry and disappointed at this moment in time, Cooper came everywhere with me even to work every day, and I was not looking forward to picking him up, so thank you for making it even worse for me.

Alex Holden

Attended 'out of hours' due to a minor accident with one of the dogs. After a little wait (busy due to reduced staff on a bank holiday, as to be expected) we were seen and a plan put in place with treatment prescribed and follow up the next morning. First assessment went as planned. The second vet sadly seemed less concerned as the issue looked less problematic and so felt an alternative management plan was required. While I understand that management plans change, the dog shook her head and opened the wound to the full extent. Instead of the initial plan to debride the wound then suture, a staple was placed instead, and if wound closure wasn't satisfactory, we would need to return for the initial management. While I appreciate the faster, cheaper approach, to me, it seemed logical to continue with the initial debride and suture to reduce risk of wound dehiscence/failed healing. Still early in healing process and anticipate that it'll heal well. But a change in management and failure to meet previously imposed treatment expectations because a wound didn't initially look exactly like the previous examination can be seen as disappointing to patients/pet owners. Prior to this however, the team were kind, caring and professional, which I have come to expect from a great quality outfit that is all of the Drove vet group/clinics and teams.

Ryan Blackwell

To the women who was extra caring and so lovely . Not a way to start a new year but could not ask for a better person to have helped . Could not remember your name as our heads was everywhere but thank you so much. should be praised highly very good at her job .