second complaint to head office after tuesday--------------------
Thank you for your acknowledgment of my email to you regarding Lilly’s care. I can not believe that I am having to now add further to this complaint but I am forced to.
I have telephoned your advertised number and ended up speaking to someone in HR as no other person was available the lady I spoke to was good enough to listen to me and take the details and said she would pass them on but in case it does not get to the correct department I am emailing you to update you of what has just happened.
As in my email ,I did as I said go to Chipenham in person with a copy of the email letter sent to you this afternoon at around 3.50 –4 pm as I had not heard from them and yesterday the vet told me she would speak to Sylvia the vet who treated Lilly and call me.
When I arrived I asked to please speak with the vet the young assistant was polite and did get her for me while I waited in the reception /shop area.
The vet came out and said she had spoke to me yesterday and there was nothing more to say as it was said yesterday. I said I had come up as I wished to know if she had spoke to the vet that treated Lilly as no one had called me yet and I did not know what was happening. She said she had not as Sylvia was not available. But she had made her aware of what had happened.
I asked why no one could have called me to let me know what was happening as I had been waiting for them to call me. She said I can not tell you any thing until I have spoke to Sylvia. I said I appreciate that but I was led to believe you would be calling me today given the circumstances. I will call you Thursday when I have spoke to Sylvia she replied. Could you not at least have given me a courtesy call then to say such, and save me wondering what’s happening and driving up here I asked .Only I was left feeling as if no one cared or was interested, we are after all talking about something a little more upsetting then a pair of faulty shoes .
I don’t know what you want me to say. I spoke with you at length yesterday about this and I am not prepared to talk about it any more she replied . At that point I gave her the letter I had sent to you and said given that Lilly had died I would have thought it would not matter that she was not at the surgery she could have called her and got back to me just out of courtesy.
Her tone now changed and she said, I seemed very upset and seemed to think someone was to blame for my kittens death its unfortunate but kittens die all the time. I said I could not believe she had said that as Lillys care advise and treatment did contribute to her her death. She took the letter out of the envelope briefly looked at a few lines and said I will go through your letter but I don’t know what you can say that was not said yesterday .
I explained the letter had been sent to you as well and that I would like answers before feeling the need to contact the RCVS. She waved the letter at me and told me I needed to leave now before she called the police. I asked her what she meant I had simply come in to see what was happening and hand the letter in in person at the same time. With that she said your upset so leave .She then said even if I did contact the RCVS she believes they will find Sylvia did nothing wrong. I was not rude, angry, aggressive ,yelling or shouting .I was calmly speaking to her in a tone and voice no different to any other time and frankly believed I was holding my composure very well under the circumstances.
Then with out any provocation the middle aged receptionist who had not been involved in Lilly’s Care was not there at the time Lilly was brought in and was not there Yesterday when I came in after collecting Lilly’s Body from the emergency vets, interrupted and shouted out at me in quite a threatening and aggressive tone. You need to get out, go on leave.
Totally shocked I looked at her and said do you mind not getting involved .I am trying to discuss what's happened with the vet. Go on get out before I call the police on you . I walked over to her and asked her who the hell she thought she was talking to me like that when I was talking to the vet trying to find out what had and was happening and it was nothing to do with her. She got up and stormed of out through one of the doors.
The vet then came over to me and told me if I did not leave she would call the police.
At this point I am totally confused as to why I am the one being threatened with the police. Why when I am the one who has just had the preventable bereavement of a loved pet. And have not had any answers let alone any understanding or sympathy shown to me by the vets in Chipenham regarding such, when I went in to find out what happened .? Confused as to why they are more interested in telling me to get out and doing so by humiliating me in side the shop, in front of every one. I end up unable to control my self any longer and just break down and cry and even then I am told I am clearly up set so I should leave before she calls the police. I told her to do so, call the police but I was not now leaving until the receptionist apologised as she had no right to speak to me like that.
The vet said the receptionist was upset and she would not ask her to come out. I told her the receptionist had no right to be upset it was my Lilly that died and nothing to do with her. It affects us all she said! so I should just leave. Not until she apologises for interrupting and inflaming the situation I replied.
I will not ask her to apologize I was told again , and to that I said in that case I will not leave." After all what more do I have to loose. I have now been totally humiliated in the reception area in front of customers as well as in front of all the shop customers. Had the composure I had managed to hold so well, stripped away from me, and made to look and feel like I have been there causing trouble. The vet then left .
One of the customers there asked me if I was alright and said although she did not know what had happened, what they had said to me was wrong.
The receptionist came out and in a very haughty and patronising tone said. I am sorry if I upset you but you need to just leave now.
When I tried to say that’s hardly an apology and you cant speak to people like that she interrupted and said I wont discuss any thing with you get out. At that point I looked at the young receptionist and said no wonder people use social media and tools like facebook to inform people of the true care and level of service they receive from companies. I then telephone your advertised number and ended up speaking with a young lady in HR who did all she could to help and understand what I was through my tears and sobs trying to convey to her about what had just occurred.
The treatment and level of care given to Lilly was shocking enough given the symptoms she was presented to you with. The probable Preventable death of Lilly will never be able to be excused. But may well and will ,I am now certain of, given the treatment and level of defensive tone and aggression shown to me so far ,when I have questioned why her treatment and advised care was not more concurrent with a lung/chest breathing problem as that is what I presented her with .Will undoubtedly be washed over. I have after all ,already seen for myself that her medical notes are incorrect and there is no documentation of sats ect for comparisons while in your care the nurse freely admitted such was not noted for comparison.
I was not looking for any one to blame, as blame will not bring Lilly back. Blame will not make the pain and emptiness we are left with go away . I simply wanted answers to understand what went wrong and to ensure it could not happen again.
I am however after the way I was humiliated today and the way I was spoken to and the lack of any urgency or just simple courtesy in contacting me or informing me of what was happening. Now left with the only conclusion one could reach following such horrendous catalogue of poor treatment for Lilly while alive, and down right savage and cruel compassion shown to me now that Lilly is dead. Positive that as no more money is there to be made ,I am no longer a client so Just get out and don’t question or cause trouble .Thanks for the money that’s in the bank good buy plenty more clients out there.
If this is indicative of your care ,and I hope to God for the sake of the animals being treated by you its not .You should change your slogan from companion care .To Lack of care and compassion
If this had been a child in a hospital would such lack of care , treatment , medical advise ,intervention and information. Incorrect medical note documentation and following the fatal outcome from that expert medical treatment that was sought when your services were employed. Wwould such horrendous customer/client care, information ,compassion and humiliation be tolerated or allowed.?
Even with a car better care would have been given, If you had taken a car in for a fault and received such shockingly incorrect diagnosis of the problem and a further problem stemming from from your original concerns and cause for seeking their expert advise developed there would be all kinds of repercussions and endless apologies and offers explanations ect .
Yet because Lilly was simply a cat and kittens die and miss diagnosis happens This is basically me being told tough .That is the long and the short of it.
yours Mrs E----------------
24th June 2014.
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