Welcome Information
Welcome to South Wales Farm Vets, we are delighted that you have chosen to join us. We are an 8 vet farm animal only veterinary practice based at Tynewydd Farm, Groes Faen.
The practice was created in 2017 by the merger of two long established local mixed practices – Park Vets in Cardiff and Maes Glas Vets in Bridgend, for the purpose of providing farm animal specialist vets, an enthusiastic team dedicated to farm animal practice.
Contacting Us
You will find all of our contact details here. We have one telephone number for you to call during office hours and out of hours. Please note the office is not manned out of hours so we are unable to put up drugs, make bookings or take bill payments.
Emergency Contact
Emergency visits are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Call us on 01443 223751 out of hours and your call will go directly to a vet who will advise and treat where required.
Information About Out of Hours Arrangements
Our normal working hours are 8.30am-5.30pm Monday to Friday apart from Bank Holidays. The rest of the time is “out of hours” (OOH).
One of the usual team of veterinary surgeons is on call OOH, 7 days a week, every week of the year.
If you have an urgent or emergency call OOH, phone the usual number. Occasionally, the on duty vet may be busy, or in an area with poor reception and you may be put through to voicemail. Please leave a message and the vet will contact you as soon as he/she receives the message. If you are concerned that a prolonged period has passed, please feel free to phone again.
Our charges for the call out only OOH are as follows:
OOH @ Tynewydd £68.36 +VAT
Saturday morning @ Tynewydd £32.52 +VAT
Saturday morning on farm £60.64 +VAT
OOH on farm £92.61 +VAT
OOH drug dispensing @Tynewydd £ 5.51 +VAT
Finding You
Please call the office to let us know if your postcode brings us directly to your holding, and if not, some handy directions / landmarks so our vets can get to you.
Paying Us
As a new customer, we ask that you settle your first few bills within a couple of days – the ladies in the office will work out the costs and phone the bill through to you.
Once we have established a relationship with you, you will be billed monthly. These bills should be paid for within 30 days of receipt. Any bill outstanding for longer will have a 5% surcharge added every month until settled.
BACS:
South Wales Farm Vets Ltd,
30-98-94 50064760
Talk to Us
We hold frequent meetings on all sorts of topics – beef, dairy, sheep, small holders. We listen to our clients – if there are any subjects that you are particularly interested in, please let us know.
Second Opinion and Referral Protocol for Owners
A referral is for a diagnosis, procedure and/or possible treatment after which the case if returned back to the referring vet whereas a second opinion is only for the purpose of seeking the opinion of the second vet.
Generally, your veterinary surgeon will suggest one of these when a greater level of expertise or specialism is needed, or when our practice does not have the facilities felt necessary – for example, we do not have radiography facilities.
Very often, we carry out a second opinion within the practice – where a different vet within the practice has a particular interest or expertise in the area being investigated. The vets often discuss cases within the practice out of interest or to gain a second opinion or to hand over a case, for example at a weekend.
If you request a referral externally – outside of SWFV, ask the vet who is dealing with the case to facilitate this. The approach to a referral vet is generally done by the primary vet to allow transfer of the information and a discussion to take place.
This can also be the way in which a second opinion is sought, although the owner can seek this themselves. In either case, the second opinion vet will request the clinical history from the initial vets.
The client must appreciate that second opinion or referral will need the transfer of their personal data to the third party.
At this point, the referral/second opinion vet will be able to give you an estimate of the cost.
Prescription
We are able to provide you with a written prescription if you would prefer. There is a certificate charge made for each prescription (up to 3 medications)
We are only able to prescribe for animals/farms that are under our care and that we have visited within the last 12 months.
The cost of a prescription with up to 3 medications is £22.61+VAT, our cost for the same drugs is available on request
Complaints Handling Policy
This policy explains how you, the client can raise a complaint with us, the directors of South Wales Farm Vets, and how we will deal with it.
In the event of a client feeling dissatisfied with the treatment that they and/or their animal has received from any of our staff, we are committed to investigate and try to resolve.
If a client has a complaint, we would ask that an email be sent to directors@swfv.uk, addressed to the directors – Mary Walters, Rhian Matthews-Davies and Morgan Hanks. This email should outline the nature of the complaint and who it is made against.
Details should include;
Your name and address
Your contact details (emails & telephone number)
Any dates and times relevant to your complaint
A key summary of the problem or problems you have experienced and why the services were unsatisfactory
We will send a receipt of the email within 2 working days and state that the relevant director will contact the client with in a fortnight.
The director will then carry out a thorough investigation. This may involve phoning the client to gather relevant information.
A response will be given within two weeks by email. Sometimes this may take longer – the client will be informed if this is the case.
Few people enjoy complaining and nobody enjoys receiving a complaint but we would rather someone tell us when there is a problem and give us the opportunity to improve our service.
If the client is unhappy with the response, they may decide to complain externally.