Last updated: 21 September 2026

These Terms and Conditions apply to veterinary services provided by R T Jones Veterinary Surgery at our Urmston and Sale branches.

R T Jones Veterinary Surgery is a small, family-run independent veterinary practice. We aim to provide a professional, caring and personal service to our clients and their pets.

By registering with the practice and asking us to provide veterinary services, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Our Veterinary Services

Our veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses work in accordance with their professional and regulatory responsibilities.

Veterinary treatment and advice will be based on the individual needs of your pet and the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon responsible for their care.

Appointments are normally required for consultations and procedures. While we will make every reasonable effort to keep to appointment times, veterinary medicine can be unpredictable and emergencies may occasionally cause delays.

Where appropriate, we may recommend referral to another veterinary practice, hospital or specialist if we believe your pet requires treatment, investigation or facilities that we are unable to provide.

Appointments, Cancellations and No-Show Fees

We understand that plans can change and that sometimes you may be unable to attend an appointment. If this happens, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible so that the appointment can be offered to another patient.

For standard consultations and appointments, we require at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or rearrange your appointment.

If you do not attend your appointment and have not provided the required notice, a £15 no-show fee will be applied.

For scheduled procedures, including operations, we require at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or rearrange.

If you do not attend a scheduled procedure and have not provided the required notice, a £45 no-show fee will be applied.

We send appointment and procedure reminders where possible to help our clients remember their bookings. However, it remains the client’s responsibility to attend the appointment or provide the required notice if they are unable to do so.

We appreciate that genuine emergencies and unexpected circumstances can occur. If you are unable to attend because of a personal emergency or exceptional circumstances, please contact us as soon as you can. We will consider the individual circumstances and discuss the matter with you.

Consent to Treatment

We will discuss recommended treatment with you and, where appropriate, obtain your consent before carrying out treatment or procedures.

For certain procedures, you may be asked to complete and sign a consent form.

Where an animal is presented by someone other than the registered owner, we may need to satisfy ourselves that the person has authority to make decisions regarding the animal’s veterinary care.

In an emergency, or where circumstances change during a procedure, it may be necessary for our veterinary surgeons to take reasonable steps that they consider necessary to protect your pet’s health and welfare. Where possible, we will attempt to contact you before carrying out treatment that differs significantly from what has already been agreed.

Estimates and Treatment Costs

Where appropriate, we can provide an estimate of the likely cost of treatment.

An estimate is an indication of the anticipated cost rather than a guaranteed final price. Veterinary treatment can sometimes develop in an unexpected way, and additional investigations, medication or treatment may become necessary.

Where reasonably possible, we will discuss significant changes to the expected cost with you before proceeding.

All veterinary fees are subject to VAT at the applicable rate where required.

Payment

Payment is normally required at the time veterinary services, treatment, medication or products are provided, or when your pet is discharged from our care.

We may request a deposit or payment in advance for certain procedures, treatments or services.

You remain responsible for payment of all fees incurred in connection with your pet’s veterinary care.

If an account remains unpaid, we may take reasonable steps to recover the outstanding balance. Where appropriate, this may include referring the account to a debt recovery service and seeking recovery of reasonable costs associated with collecting the outstanding debt.

Pet Insurance

We do not process direct insurance claims on behalf of clients.

Clients are responsible for paying R T Jones Veterinary Surgery for veterinary treatment and then submitting their own claim to their pet insurance provider.

Where requested, we can complete or provide relevant veterinary information and documentation required to support your insurance claim.

A £5 administration fee is charged for completing insurance paperwork. This fee is non-refundable, regardless of whether your insurance provider accepts or declines your claim.

If you ask us to communicate with your insurance provider, we may provide relevant information with your authority and in accordance with our confidentiality and data protection obligations.

Having pet insurance does not transfer responsibility for payment to the insurance company. The client remains responsible for payment of all veterinary fees.

Written Prescriptions and Veterinary Medicines

Where clinically appropriate and permitted by veterinary medicines legislation and professional requirements, we can provide a written prescription so that you may obtain prescribed veterinary medicines from a pharmacy or other authorised veterinary medicines retailer of your choice.

A fee is charged for each written prescription. Our current written prescription fee can be found on the Prices page of our website.

Clients are responsible for submitting written prescriptions to their chosen pharmacy or veterinary medicines retailer. R T Jones Veterinary Surgery does not routinely submit written prescriptions to pharmacies on behalf of clients.

Whether a prescription can be issued, the quantity prescribed, the number of repeats permitted and whether your pet requires a veterinary examination will be determined by the prescribing veterinary surgeon in accordance with current veterinary medicines legislation and professional guidance.

Online pharmacies and veterinary medicines retailers may contact us to verify that a prescription is genuine. They may also use systems and procedures designed to identify duplicate, altered or otherwise suspicious prescriptions.

A written prescription must not be altered, copied for unauthorised use or submitted more times than permitted. A prescription that is not repeatable must not be submitted to more than one retailer or used more than once.

Where we or a veterinary medicines retailer have reason to suspect that a prescription has been altered, duplicated, reused or otherwise misused, the prescription may be investigated and relevant information may be provided to the appropriate authorities where permitted or required by law.

Suspected prescription fraud or misuse may be reported to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

Repeat Medication and Flea and Worming Treatment

Repeat medication will only be supplied or prescribed where the veterinary surgeon considers it clinically appropriate and where the animal remains under our care in accordance with current professional and legal requirements.

Your pet may need to be examined periodically before further medication can be supplied or prescribed. The frequency of these examinations will depend upon your pet’s condition, the medication being prescribed and the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon.

For POM-V flea, tick and worming treatments, your pet must have had an appropriate physical examination by one of our veterinary surgeons before the treatment can be prescribed. As part of our practice policy, we require at least one veterinary health check every 12 months for ongoing preventative POM-V flea and worming treatment.

A veterinary surgeon may require your pet to be examined more frequently where clinically appropriate or where required before prescribing a particular medicine.

Clinical Records and Second Opinions

Clinical records, including consultation notes, test results, laboratory reports and diagnostic images, are maintained by the practice as part of your pet’s veterinary record.

You are entitled to request that relevant clinical information is provided to another veterinary practice where appropriate.

You may seek a second opinion regarding your pet’s veterinary care at any time. Where requested and appropriate, we will provide the receiving veterinary practice with the relevant clinical history.

Referrals

Where we believe that your pet would benefit from specialist investigation or treatment, we may recommend referral to another veterinary practice, veterinary hospital or specialist.

The referral practice is a separate veterinary service provider and its own fees, terms and conditions will normally apply.

Emergency and Out-of-Hours Care

During our normal opening hours, we provide veterinary services through our Urmston and Sale branches in accordance with our normal practice arrangements.

When our practice is closed, our out-of-hours emergency veterinary care is provided by Vets Now Manchester.

Vets Now Hospital Manchester
98 Bury Old Road
Whitefield
Manchester
M45 6TQ

Telephone: 0161 222 6101

Vets Now is a separate veterinary service provider. Treatment provided by Vets Now is subject to their own fees and terms and conditions.

If your pet requires urgent veterinary attention while we are closed, please contact Vets Now directly.

Behaviour Towards Our Staff

We are committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for our clients, staff and patients.

We do not tolerate abusive, threatening, intimidating, discriminatory, aggressive or violent behaviour towards any member of our team. This applies whether the behaviour takes place in person, over the telephone, in writing, by email, online or through social media.

Where a client’s behaviour causes a serious breakdown in the relationship between the client and the practice, we may decide that we are no longer able to continue providing routine veterinary services to that client.

Where appropriate, we will provide 14 days’ notice to allow the client to register their pet with another veterinary practice.

During that 14-day notice period, we will continue to make appropriate provision for emergency veterinary care, first aid or pain relief where required, in accordance with our professional responsibilities.

In particularly serious circumstances, including violence, threats of violence or behaviour that places our staff, clients or animals at risk, we reserve the right to take immediate steps to protect those involved. This may include requiring an individual to leave the premises and contacting the police or other appropriate authorities.

Safety of Animals, Clients and Staff

Clients are responsible for keeping their animals appropriately restrained and under reasonable control while attending the practice.

Dogs should normally be kept on a suitable lead and cats and other small animals should normally be transported in a secure carrier where appropriate.

Please tell us before or at the time of booking if your pet is known to be particularly anxious, fearful or aggressive so that we can make appropriate arrangements where possible.

We reserve the right to take reasonable measures necessary to protect the safety and welfare of our staff, clients and animals.

CCTV

CCTV recording may be used at our premises for the safety and security of our clients, staff, visitors, animals and property and for the prevention, detection and investigation of incidents.

Where CCTV is in operation, appropriate signage will be displayed.

CCTV footage will be stored securely and access will be restricted to authorised persons.

Recordings may normally be retained for up to 90 days, after which they will be securely deleted or overwritten unless there is a legitimate reason to retain particular footage for longer, for example in connection with an incident, complaint, legal matter or lawful request from an appropriate authority.

Further information about how we handle personal information can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Client Confidentiality and Data Protection

We respect the confidentiality and privacy of our clients.

Personal information and information relating to your pet will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection law and our professional obligations.

There may be circumstances in which information can or must be disclosed without your consent, including where disclosure is required by law or is otherwise justified under applicable professional or legal obligations.

Further information about how we collect, use, store and share personal information is available in our Privacy Policy.

Complaints

We hope that any concerns can be resolved quickly by speaking with us directly.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service or care you have received, please speak to a member of our team so that we have an opportunity to understand and address your concerns.

Further information about how we handle complaints can be found in our Complaints Policy.

Changes to These Terms and Conditions

We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time to reflect changes to our services, fees, practice arrangements, professional guidance or legal requirements.

The latest version will be made available through our website or from the practice.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us:

R T Jones Veterinary Surgery

Urmston Branch
109 Higher Road
Urmston
Manchester
M41 9AX

Sale Branch
37 Green Lane
Sale
M33 5PN

Email: rtjonesvets@gmail.com
Telephone: 0161 748 6177