Outstanding service with exemplary care. I thoroughly recommend Eastcott Vets.
My dog, Patsy, required a splenectomy and significant mass removal last month.
A couple of days after an incidental diagnosis of a splenic mass, Patsy collapsed with a suspected slow bleed on her spleen.
Patsy's very kind and well-meaning local vet (we live in Wales) had advised that a palliative route might be most appropriate for her, as a senior dog with an underlying health condition, and that she may need to be euthanised before her spleen ruptured.
I was devastated. I came to terms with this news and sought the help of a fantastic palliative care team here in South Wales, who assessed Patsy at home and recommended she may be a good candidate for surgery. Patsy's local vet referred us to Eastcott in Swindon. It was 2.5 hours from home and Patsy is not insured, but it seemed worth getting a second opinion.
To cut a long story short (because this could become a dissertation length essay) Eastcott vets absolutely saved Patsy's life - her mass was benign, which meant the surgery was curative!
Andy, Laura and the soft tissue surgery team at Eastcott did such a wonderful job, alongside fantastic cardiologists and anaesthetists who managed Patsy's underlying conditions sensitively during her time at Eastcott.
Patsy has bounced back so beautifully. She has boundless energy and a lust for life that I thought she had long lost to old age. It turns out, she had just been in pain/discomfort for a long time, and her character had dwindled so slowly I hadn't noticed how much she had changed.
Patsy is just out of her recovery window, and she is zooming around like she hasn't in years, playing with toys again, engaging in enrichment activities she'd had no interest in for over a year. She is vivacious. Her appetite for life (and food) is almost overwhelming.
In terms of cost, Patsy's consultation, procedure, CT scan and echocardiograms came to over £5,700, which was a little more than I was expecting and significantly more than it might have cost if we had not chosen to be referred to a specialist, however I do not regret choosing Eastcott as the staff were fantastic and the practice so well equipped.
Thank you to Andy, Laura and everybody who worked with Patsy. She is like a brand new dog and we are immensely grateful. X
I had the unfortunate experience of my cat being killed, recently on a road. A kind lady had taken my cat to Eastcott Vets Clinic. They phoned me and I arranged to visit, to say goodbye to my beloved pet. I saw Hannah, a veterinary nurse, who was absolutely lovely. It was a distressing time for me, losing my cat so suddenly and unexpectedly. Hannah had put my cat in a nice fluffy blanket and taken clippings of her fur for me to keep. She had also made some paw prints, for me take home. I was really touched by this and now have something to keep, as a memory of my beautiful cat. I felt Hannah went above and beyond, in what was a horrible situation. I will never forget her kindness and compassion and would highly recommend this vet practice
Very professional staff. Any queries immediately dealt with. Treatments explained in full.
Very disappointing experience. The practice lost our cat’s vaccination record after a vet forgot to sign it following a vaccination. Reception took it away to be completed and, despite us chasing it and being told to give them a few more days, three months later it was still missing.
When I asked for it before our next appointment, I was told they didn’t know where it was and that I didn’t need it anyway. We travel with our cat and use a cattery, so the documentation is essential. The receptionist was also unnecessarily sarcastic and, in front of other customers, told me the conversation was “pointless”. There was no apology or accountability.
Thankfully, an Operations Manager eventually stepped in, issued a replacement record and apologised. We were told someone would call to check in afterwards, but that never happened.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated issue. We have previously had fleas incorrectly identified as blood scabs, and now important documentation has been lost. After giving this practice several chances, we are now moving our pets elsewhere. Very disappointing.
From the outset, the experience has been deeply distressing. Porky was referred to your hospital by our local vet, and we were told he would require specialist surgery. Weeks ago, he underwent scans, after which we were informed that custom parts needed to be built by a third party. We were told this would take several weeks. During this time, despite already being billed £4,500, we received almost no communication and had to chase updates ourselves.
Eventually, we were provisionally booked for surgery on 09/12. Less than 24 hours before, we still had not heard from the hospital. Conflicting information from the receptionist and surgeon added to our stress. On the day itself, we were told to arrive at 8am, with surgery scheduled for 9am. We were assured the procedure would take 3–4 hours and that we would receive an update. By 4pm, after repeated calls, we finally learned Porky had not gone into surgery at 9am and was still in theatre. Emergencies can happen, but failing to provide a single update is unacceptable.
The lack of communication and basic customer service caused immense and unnecessary stress at a time when compassion and clarity should have been paramount. This is particularly concerning given the financial cost, which is now approaching £10,000.
Further to this, we were informed on Thursday that Porky could be collected early, despite originally being told Friday. When we arrived, his eye was gunky, which we initially assumed was due to surgery. Within 24 hours, however, we were back at the vets, where Porky was diagnosed with an eye ulcer that had been missed by your team. We were told that had we not brought him in when we did, he would almost certainly have lost his eye.
In addition, every time we spoke to reception we were asked whether we had paid our insurance excess, despite the fact we have been attending since September and had already paid a £20 admin fee for your team to manage the insurance process. We have also already claimed £4,000 from the insurance company. Yet each time, staff appeared unaware of the situation, which only added to the impression that no one knew what was going on.
Since porky was discharged and his eye eventually healed, we haven’t had a single call from anyone at the vets checking up on him to see how he is recovering. Is this because I refused to keep being ripped off? We spent over £10k with you.
This sequence of events demonstrates serious lapses in both medical oversight and communication. Families entrust you with their pets, and the standard of care and service must reflect that responsibility. This should not just be a business designed to extract as much money as possible from people.
Very pleased with the vet the me and my dog seen very helpful
Had an emergency with our dog, after calling the emergency line I was on hold listening to myriad of different options and services about how great this vets is. After 5 minutes on hold I was told that the call wouldn't be answered. Then it hung up on me. All in all if you have an emergency use a different vet as is this one will just make you scream in anger. If you love your pet avoid this vets at all costs, as you can be assured these guys couldn't care less.
We had cause to visit this place due to our dog becoming unwell and having been referred by our own vets in Melksham.
A long story but we have a senior staffy who is extremely nervous when it comes to vets. Unfortunately, out of the blue, he had a fit whilst at work with me.
We initially took him to our vets who felt that it was best to get him seen by a neurological specialist and they suggested Eastcott. They did say, however, that having just had one fit we may not hear as a matter of urgency.
That didn't matter as he had a further three overnight so we had cause to speak with them.
Eastcott were nothing short of superb in responding, I honestly cannot fault them.
We brought him in, as arranged, and were seen by Sara who was superb with him and worked with his anxiety issues brilliantly.
She was thorough, listened to us and advised us compassionately especially as we were self funding. At no time were we given either the hard sell or the feeling that he wasn't worth the investigation cost.
He was kept in for blood tests, an MRI and lumber puncture and we were promised to be kept informed at all stages - and were.
Everything came out positive but Sara wanted to keep him in overnight for obs and to get his meds sorted.
She was thorough the following morning when we picked him up and was just lovely with us and Casper.
I emailed her a few days later, to follow up and we had a lovely email back with further advice.
We knew the sort of cost to expect beforehand and they were actually a little cheaper than anticipated.
If we were nearer, we'd use them for Casper all the time but in relation to his diagnosis - we will continue to use them in the future.
I should mention that every staff member we came into contact with were just lovely, understanding and kind.
I would have no hesitation in recommending them for your pets emergency needs.
Saved my cats life! Marcus (neurologist) really was passionate about helping Mowgli last year. I ended up moving from my local vets to here and even with more complications, the day to day vet team have been so helpful. Thank you.
