21/12/2025
Dear all,
So as another year draws to a close, I wanted just to thank you all for your support during 2025 and to wish you all the best over the Festive Season. Thanks again to Katy and Sophia for their help and unwavering support with the administration and insurance claims for IVS, and also for their help to set up our brand new website www.painfreepets.net. Hopefully now all new referrals, clinic and other news/information including pain scores etc., are now more easily accessible for you and your GP Vets via the website. We will be asking everyone please to complete a Form A Pain score questionnaire from the website each time we see your pet, which will also give us up to date clinical information in relation interventions and medications.
Our appreciation also must go to all the physios, specialists and GP vets that we work with, as part of our growing professional multidisciplinary team (MDT) network. It's been very exciting this year to be involved in starting up a new special interest group for MDT professionals, focusing on chronic pain management and rehabilitation via The Langford Academy. Meetings have been held at the Langford Vet School, Bristol and also at the WIN Clinic, Wellington and this has led to some excellent and lively discussion on various specialist topics with our local allied MDT professional colleagues.
We have also just started using a new Veterinary AI system (Lupa) to try to cut down on some of the administration, report writing and note taking time that seems, at times, to take over. This will hopefully allow for more clinical time which would be a positive outcome. We will therefore now ask for your permission please to record all clinical information in consults, for transcription into your animal's clinical notes and reports. No problem if you would rather we didn't....just let us know, and all data is protected.
You will likely be aware, with extensive media coverage, that it's been an interesting year in the veterinary profession with the ongoing independent enquiry by the Competitions & Markets Authority (CMA). The outcome of this has now been published and we do appreciate your patience and understanding whilst we have had to navigate and implement various changes to our practice, to meet new standards on transparency, pricing, prescribing and on call cover.
Prices remain static for 2026 with current client with re-examination for pain review/acupuncture/liaise with vet consult remaining at £95 for 30 mins. Acupuncture only consults are still available (GP vets in charge of pain meds/pain reviews) and the cost for this will now be £70 for 15 minute consult. Initial consults in person with "hands-on" will also still be available (£375 1 hour for complex cases or £295 reduced fee for simpler cases). This will also include an initial AI generated report back to GP Vets and all MDT members. We are also trialling a more flexible tele-consult service for initial assessments (provided externally but cases will come back to us in on of our clinics if "hands on" treatment is required (cost £225/hour), so please do ask for this for initial assessment if you are interested. Price lists, clinic times and T&Cs are all available on the website.
So it just remains now to say HAPPY CHRISTMAS to you all and best wishes for 2026. We close from Wednesday December 24th and re-open on Monday 5th January 2026. I am still available via email or for tele-advice over the Festive period, with your primary vets providing 24/7 cover for emergencies.
Best wishes to you and your furry ones!
Kate and the IVS team
We provide an integrated and holistic approach to chronic pain management and advice on rehabilitation, for dogs, cats and other pets in the Teignbridge, Torbay, Exeter, Plymouth, mid Devon and West Somerset areas.
