OOH's Pay

Re: OOH's Pay

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:14:55 GMT

I did say that I didn't think the system was fair - for all the reasons that have been stated by others!

[quote user="niknoks"]You cant refuse to treat the animal as the Royal College would have you for negligence[/quote]

No - but you can simply offer first aid or basic care and therefore keep costs to the practice to a minimum. It is usually (but not always) very obvious which clients have absolutely no intention (or ability) to pay. Allowing them to get their free treatment propagates the problem.

Re: OOH's Pay

Tracy Windler RVN — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:51:16 GMT

Hmmm, I wonder what happens if the debt is settled, maybe 6 months down the line? Do the nurses keep tabs on what money they are owed, then monitor the clients involved? Its just seems a daft system to me! I ca see why the employer has put it in place, as they are probably sick to the back teeth of paying out for overtime when they are not getting the payment for it.

Perhaps you could suggest a number of the alternatives to your employer to deal with the original issue, so that you can, either reinstate automatic payment for ooh, OR cut down the amount of bad debt, which will result in reduction of the frequency of losing your ooh. That way, everyone is happy (except for the client who had no intention of paying for their SBT caesar at 3am on a sunday!)

Re: OOH's Pay

les punton — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:22:44 GMT

I agree with both sides, but I do think that it should be a team effort getting the money. By getting the admitting vet/nurse to give estimate it may not be as much of a surprise to the client. By giving them a print out to show what they are paying for. By updating them on any change of costs and also by reception getting the money (hopefully by this time they are prepared).

However clients are clients and it doesnt always go to plan!

Re: OOH's Pay

Steph Worsley — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:00:20 GMT

I can see your side Gillian (hence me suggesting the deposit system - done it in practices I've worked with our own OOH and currently uninsured clients at work are asked for a deposit)

However, it seems like the OP was saying if a client subsequently doesn't pay (ie on discharge following hospitalisation) then they don't get paid....to me this isn't fair as it isn't nec going to be the same nurse discharging as was present when the patient was admitted so cannot ensure the client pays....that is up to the person on the reception desk at the time, do the bosses do this when a patient is admitted during the day and the client doesnt settle the bill....do they then dock the pay of the employee's involved in the care of that patient and would this be classed as fair?

Re: OOH's Pay

Vicky RVN — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:07:52 GMT

Totally agree with you niknoks.

Re: OOH's Pay

Vicky RVN — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:07:17 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]Made me laugh when a previous poster said that you shouldn't be expected to work for free. Imagine if you own the practice, and it has actually cost YOU money to have the priviledge of treating someone else's pet!!! Now THAT is annoying![/quote] I wasn't saying it to be funny!!! Like has been said by someone else, all you can do is ask for money...if the card declines etc then what are you supposed to do about it? I can see it would be annoying to not get the money for treating someones pet...but at the end of the day, that is one of the risks of owning a business and it shouldn't effect your staff!

Re: OOH's Pay

Nikki Graef — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:10:16 GMT

Im sure it is annoying being the owner of the practice and having people not pay, however all you can do as a member of staff is ask for the money, if the client refuses to pay there is nothing you can do. You cant refuse to treat the animal as the Royal College would have you for negligence , you cant drive the client to the nearest ATM and force them to withdraw the cash out!

Its a very difficult situation and one i have been in many times in the past, i dont think it is fair for you not to be paid if a client refuses to pay, the practice should have some sort of scheme in place, be it debt collection agencies or something to try and get the money from difficult clients. Personally i wouldnt be happy doing OOH if i knew i wouldnt get paid if the clients didnt pay, in my experience OOH is the most difficult time to get money from clients, its usually an emergency and a stressful situation also an expensive time when emotions are running high, ive lost count of the number of times ive been called every name under the sun when quoting OOH costs.

I can sympathise with practices losing money on work they do but penalising staff is not the right way to go about it.

Re: OOH's Pay

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:52:55 GMT

Maybe this is an incentive for the staff to ensure bills are paid - afterall, OOH is a common cause of bad debt. Some staff seem really reluctant to badger people for money. However, it does seem a bit unfair.

Made me laugh when a previous poster said that you shouldn't be expected to work for free. Imagine if you own the practice, and it has actually cost YOU money to have the priviledge of treating someone else's pet!!! Now THAT is annoying!

Re: OOH's Pay

Kim Buckley — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:52:04 GMT

My old practice had this policy for the vets. The nurses got a fee for being at the hospital all night so you always got paid but the vets only got paid once the bill had been settled

Re: OOH's Pay

Vicky RVN — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:09:29 GMT

Ah didn't think of a deposit idea, sounds like a good idea to me.

Re: OOH's Pay

Steph Worsley — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:55:20 GMT

I agree with Vicky,

could the practice set up a deposit system so when you admit an animal OOH the client has to pay something (£50, £75 or £100) so at least some of the costs are covered should the client not pay at the end?

Re: OOH's Pay

Vicky RVN — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:26:21 GMT

There is no way you should not get paid your ooh pay if the client doesn't pay you! If I were you I would put my foot down and say if that is going to happen them I'm not doing the ooh! You aren't there to work for FREE! Are you a member of bvna? If so give their legal advice line a call to see what they think of the situation. Does your practice use debt collectors to get money out of non payers?