Vets Now
Colchester, Essex
General Info
Your pets are your cherished companions - and just like us, they can become ill or suffer accidents at night, over the weekend or during a public holiday - just when your usual vets' surgery is closed.
That's where Vets Now comes in. We partner your regular vet to provide a dedicated emergency service during their well-earned time off. We sleep during the day and take days off when other vets are working - so we're alert and effective at our job, whether it's four in the morning or half-way through Christmas.
We have the same qualifications and experience as other vets, and because we're dedicated to urgent critical care, we're particularly skilled at dealing with emergencies. And just like other vets, we love animals and we understand the special bond between people and their pets - so you can expect a caring, understanding approach at all times.
That's where Vets Now comes in. We partner your regular vet to provide a dedicated emergency service during their well-earned time off. We sleep during the day and take days off when other vets are working - so we're alert and effective at our job, whether it's four in the morning or half-way through Christmas.
We have the same qualifications and experience as other vets, and because we're dedicated to urgent critical care, we're particularly skilled at dealing with emergencies. And just like other vets, we love animals and we understand the special bond between people and their pets - so you can expect a caring, understanding approach at all times.
Team
Victor Ortiz
Veterinarian
Mikolaj Wojciechowski
Veterinarian
Vicki Watson
Nurse
Emergency and
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{{staff.staffRole == undefined?'Administrative':staff.staffRole.name}}
{{staff.biography}}
Reviews
R Smith
22 Apr 2022
REPORT
After a period of illness we found ourselves needing to get our lovely old Black Lab put to sleep on Easter Sunday. We had a care plan in place with our regular vet but as our old fella slipped very q...
After a period of illness we found ourselves needing to get our lovely old Black Lab put to sleep on Easter Sunday. We had a care plan in place with our regular vet but as our old fella slipped very quickly over Saturday night/Sunday morning we found ourselves at the mercy of out of hours veterinary care. We tried in vain for someone to come out as it would have been so painful for him to travel in the car but we couldn't get through to anybody that would attend so eventually, after a number of calls, we managed to get him into Vets Now in Brinkley Lane, Colchester late on Sunday evening. We made it very clear how unwell he was and that the drive (a good 45 minutes) would put the dog through a massive amount of pain to get there (he had stitches in his stomach and he was extremely weak and in pain generally from a terminal condition).
On arrival he was initially triaged by a nurse in the car park who immediately seemed to question why he needed to be euthanised. It was obvious to anybody that he was already in extreme discomfort but there did not seem to be any urgency with the practice. We did not want to carry him into the waiting room as there were people waiting and we thought our dog would find it distressing with strangers around him so we opted to wait with him in the car until it was time to carry him into the surgery and retain a little bit of his dignity. We did not however realise how long that wait was going to be!
Despite us making enquiries a number of times with their reception staff we were left waiting for around two hours in the car park with a dog in terrible pain and distress; dogs were walked in and out of the surgery but nobody came to help our dog. We made a further attempt to find out when our poor dog would be seen and was simply told that they didn't know when he would be seen and the receptionist looked at my wife as if it we were an inconvenience so we took the decision to leave as we were not convinced that he was going to be seen at all. At that point the dog was lying in the back of our car drooling profusely, shaking and struggling for breath.
Ultimately our dog had to endure a painful return journey home and a twelve hour wait until another Vet attended our home and put our poor old boy to sleep the following day. The Vet that attended our home said that our dog would have been in accute pain over that period and that is just not acceptable from a supposed "caring profession". Quite frankly both Vets Now and the staff that were on duty on 17/04/22 should hang their heads in utter shame; YOU ARE A DISGRACE!
My family are left now with memories not of the wonderful friend our Lab was but of how he suffered so much in the last hours of his life at the hands of what is the worst Vet's Practice I have ever dealt with.
Kels Jaimie
5 Jul 2018
REPORT
Absolutely disgusting people found a sick bird phoned them up and asked them if I could bring it in I was even willing to pay for the treatment they said just leave it when u found it I took the bird ...
Absolutely disgusting people found a sick bird phoned them up and asked them if I could bring it in I was even willing to pay for the treatment they said just leave it when u found it I took the bird in 3 hours later it died they could of saved but no they are just money grabbers don’t take your pet to them go somewhere else scumbags
Lynne Gaskell
2 Jul 2018
REPORT
Brilliant service! My son had found an injured magpie and they were happy to take it in. On arrival the staff were very busy dealing with emergencies but they were lovely and caring. Thank you 😊
Chris K
1 May 2018
REPORT
They do not specialise in treating hamsters but they did specialise in taking my money. Avoid if you have small animals.
Lisa Gould
11 Apr 2018
REPORT
Very kind, caring, sadly could not save my cat but afterwards I received a lovely card from the vet with a packet of forget-me-not seeds. Very touched
Sarah Alexander
3 Apr 2018
REPORT
Unluckly I've been here three times in the last year but on every occasion all staff have been polite and empathetic.
I've taken my cat and dog here for out of hours treatment and they've been very ...
Unluckly I've been here three times in the last year but on every occasion all staff have been polite and empathetic.
I've taken my cat and dog here for out of hours treatment and they've been very well looked after.
Side note:
Very pricey if you don't have insurance get ready to pay up
( only commenting on out of hours vet service)
Neil Watts
8 Feb 2018
REPORT
Took our cat in after an accident in which he was quite seriously injured. We were initially quoted £1000-1500, to get him to the stage that he could be transferred to a specialist vet to do surgery ...
Took our cat in after an accident in which he was quite seriously injured. We were initially quoted £1000-1500, to get him to the stage that he could be transferred to a specialist vet to do surgery and then another £1500 or so for this aspect. After a couple of chasing phone calls, we we called at 10pm on Sunday night to advise that they hadn't even done the promised X-rays by this point, but that the specialists had said that the costs would be at least an extra £5000, and quite possibly more. Sadly, he had to be put to sleep as we don't have at least £6500 knocking around. In the 6 hours he was there, they gave him 1 lot of painkillers and kept him in an oxygen tent, and finally had to put him to sleep. The promised x-rays weren't done (which were included in the initial estimate). We paid a £500 deposit and yesterday they requested payment of an extra £300 - so £800 for one lot of painkillers, emergency fee and keeping him in an oxygen tent. Had they given a realistic and sensible estimate at the outset, we would, sadly have had to make the very difficult decision to let him go, but it seems to us that they were just trying to make as much money as possible from the initial consultation, before giving us the "bad news" about the true likely cost. Our poor cat had to suffer for an extra 6 hours with serious facial injuries due to this money grabbing and unrealistic approach. If I could give no stars, I would - it's all about the money. A formal complaint is in the process of being raised too.
Hayley Springett
12 Oct 2017
REPORT
The service we received following my 6 month old puppy being brought to the out of hours clinic was appalling ! She broke her femur and was in extreme pain, at first we thought the vets were lovely bu...
The service we received following my 6 month old puppy being brought to the out of hours clinic was appalling ! She broke her femur and was in extreme pain, at first we thought the vets were lovely but things soon changed over night. The neglangent care given to my dog caused her to swallow a whole tea spoon over night. They laughed at this and it came across as they were blaming the 6 month old puppy for this (even though she was sedated and it is there one job to care for the pets admitted, not cause further harm). Following this incident my dog was referred to a specialist due to them not being able to remover the spoon by making her vomit ! (All while she had a broken femur). In the end we received the best treatment from the referral we had to Dick White referrals who fixed her leg and the spoon. Without laughing about the situation.
J Garlick
29 Jul 2017
REPORT
I used vets now in Nottingham with my dog who had to be put to sleep because she wasn't given the right treatment she should have been drained and stabilized as she had a heart murmur but they did not...
I used vets now in Nottingham with my dog who had to be put to sleep because she wasn't given the right treatment she should have been drained and stabilized as she had a heart murmur but they did not do it I advise any one with complaints to go onto trustpilot as there are so many don't use them
john palfree
1 May 2017
REPORT
Sent me to Twickenham at midnight when the specialist was in Cambridge!!! This delay nearly cost my dog to never walk again..
dickys tease
26 Oct 2016
REPORT
disgusting took friends puppy to emergency vets now brinkley lane colchester they were going to charge me 900 for sewing a small piece of his ear up took him to companion care cowdray avenue and they ...
disgusting took friends puppy to emergency vets now brinkley lane colchester they were going to charge me 900 for sewing a small piece of his ear up took him to companion care cowdray avenue and they charge 300
Avoid vets now they wanted to cut a piece of his ear off they have no idea what they are doing AVOID AVOID AVOID
Nicola Quilter
9 Oct 2016
REPORT
Absolutely awful vets. My cat was taken in for over night lodging as he was on a drip (drip provided by my other vet) all they had to do was put him in a cage. He was suppose to have drip in all night...
Absolutely awful vets. My cat was taken in for over night lodging as he was on a drip (drip provided by my other vet) all they had to do was put him in a cage. He was suppose to have drip in all night but they took it out after an hour as they couldn't be bothered to keep an eye on him.
Then they told me they didn't know what to charge me because they don't know how to work out the computer. Hour later they produced a 600 bill estimiate and try to get me to sign it, this then quickly reduced when I queried it to 150
Next day I came back to collect the cat, they then tried to charge me 180!!
Then I gave them my insurance papers to complete , over a week they still haven't done it and I need the money back! When I called to chase manager wouldn't come to phone, the rude receptionist told me I needed to call their head office as they couldn't process my claim?!?!
My other vets had no issues with it.
Because they owe me a refund and it's clearly a little difficult for them they've past me on.
Really annoyed and angry I now have to explain everything to someone else, without a guarantee of a refund of the money they owe.
Avoid this vets at all cost
Bad customer service
Staff haven't got a clue !!!
Tony Goodge
24 Aug 2016
REPORT
Staff were absolutely amazing
Tayva Goodge
24 Aug 2016
REPORT
Amazing staff. Out of hour prices but pets are in the best hands.
Jasmin Cox
15 Jun 2016
REPORT
Absolutely terrible.
Brought my puppy here with an unexpected very severe bladder infection out of hours. We waited over 2 hours for an appointment with my puppy crying and bleeding on the floor befo...
Absolutely terrible.
Brought my puppy here with an unexpected very severe bladder infection out of hours. We waited over 2 hours for an appointment with my puppy crying and bleeding on the floor before we left because she was exhausted and stressed and we were nowhere near to being seen.
Got home incredibly late after driving far to see these vets out of ours and all it's done is made my puppy stressed out while she suffered and waited.
The vet was poor and far too relaxed- considering the state of my puppy you'd think he might consider actually treating animals instead of chatting to the receptionist.
I really would not recommend this vet's.
Harvey Duke
20 Dec 2015
REPORT
Thought the whole process was money orientated went from 200 300 to 4000 in a matter of minutes,NO compassion what so ever ,My dog could have needed an operation for Blockage in colon ,when i asked th...
Thought the whole process was money orientated went from 200 300 to 4000 in a matter of minutes,NO compassion what so ever ,My dog could have needed an operation for Blockage in colon ,when i asked the Vet if he was capable of this Operation his reply was "I will have a go".Unprofessional ,Insensitive Ridiculous charges,They are a money making outfit that is run on Greed . (THIS IS MY OPINION BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE).
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Please call
01206 842224
Business Hours
Monday
Mon
12:00PM-08:30AM
Tuesday
Tue
18:30PM-08:30AM
Wednesday
Wed
18:30PM-08:30AM
Thursday
Thu
18:30PM-08:30AM
Friday
Fri
18:30PM-08:30AM
Saturday
Sat
12:00PM-08:30AM
Sunday
Sun
12:00PM-08:30AM
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Vets Now
Colchester, Essex
Book an Appointment
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General Info
Your pets are your cherished companions - and just like us, they can become ill or suffer accidents at night, over the weekend or during a public holiday - just when your usual vets' surgery is closed.
That's where Vets Now comes in. We partner your regular vet to provide a dedicated emergency service during their well-earned time off. We sleep during the day and take days off when other vets are working - so we're alert and effective at our job, whether it's four in the morning or half-way through Christmas.
We have the same qualifications and experience as other vets, and because we're dedicated to urgent critical care, we're particularly skilled at dealing with emergencies. And just like other vets, we love animals and we understand the special bond between people and their pets - so you can expect a caring, understanding approach at all times.
That's where Vets Now comes in. We partner your regular vet to provide a dedicated emergency service during their well-earned time off. We sleep during the day and take days off when other vets are working - so we're alert and effective at our job, whether it's four in the morning or half-way through Christmas.
We have the same qualifications and experience as other vets, and because we're dedicated to urgent critical care, we're particularly skilled at dealing with emergencies. And just like other vets, we love animals and we understand the special bond between people and their pets - so you can expect a caring, understanding approach at all times.
Business Hours
Monday
12:00PM-08:30AM
Tuesday
18:30PM-08:30AM
Wednesday
18:30PM-08:30AM
Thursday
18:30PM-08:30AM
Friday
18:30PM-08:30AM
Saturday
12:00PM-08:30AM
Sunday
12:00PM-08:30AM
Team
Victor Ortiz
Veterinarian
Mikolaj Wojciechowski
Veterinarian
Vicki Watson
Nurse
Emergency and
Administrative
{{staff.firstName}} {{staff.lastName}}
{{staff.staffRole == undefined?'Administrative':staff.staffRole.name}}
{{staff.biography}}
Reviews
R Smith
22 Apr 2022
After a period of illness we found ourselves needing to get our lovely old Black Lab put to sleep on Easter Sunday. We had a care plan in place with our regular vet but as our old fella slipped very q...
After a period of illness we found ourselves needing to get our lovely old Black Lab put to sleep on Easter Sunday. We had a care plan in place with our regular vet but as our old fella slipped very quickly over Saturday night/Sunday morning we found ourselves at the mercy of out of hours veterinary care. We tried in vain for someone to come out as it would have been so painful for him to travel in the car but we couldn't get through to anybody that would attend so eventually, after a number of calls, we managed to get him into Vets Now in Brinkley Lane, Colchester late on Sunday evening. We made it very clear how unwell he was and that the drive (a good 45 minutes) would put the dog through a massive amount of pain to get there (he had stitches in his stomach and he was extremely weak and in pain generally from a terminal condition).
On arrival he was initially triaged by a nurse in the car park who immediately seemed to question why he needed to be euthanised. It was obvious to anybody that he was already in extreme discomfort but there did not seem to be any urgency with the practice. We did not want to carry him into the waiting room as there were people waiting and we thought our dog would find it distressing with strangers around him so we opted to wait with him in the car until it was time to carry him into the surgery and retain a little bit of his dignity. We did not however realise how long that wait was going to be!
Despite us making enquiries a number of times with their reception staff we were left waiting for around two hours in the car park with a dog in terrible pain and distress; dogs were walked in and out of the surgery but nobody came to help our dog. We made a further attempt to find out when our poor dog would be seen and was simply told that they didn't know when he would be seen and the receptionist looked at my wife as if it we were an inconvenience so we took the decision to leave as we were not convinced that he was going to be seen at all. At that point the dog was lying in the back of our car drooling profusely, shaking and struggling for breath.
Ultimately our dog had to endure a painful return journey home and a twelve hour wait until another Vet attended our home and put our poor old boy to sleep the following day. The Vet that attended our home said that our dog would have been in accute pain over that period and that is just not acceptable from a supposed "caring profession". Quite frankly both Vets Now and the staff that were on duty on 17/04/22 should hang their heads in utter shame; YOU ARE A DISGRACE!
My family are left now with memories not of the wonderful friend our Lab was but of how he suffered so much in the last hours of his life at the hands of what is the worst Vet's Practice I have ever dealt with.
Kels Jaimie
5 Jul 2018
Absolutely disgusting people found a sick bird phoned them up and asked them if I could bring it in I was even willing to pay for the treatment they said just leave it when u found it I took the bird ...
Absolutely disgusting people found a sick bird phoned them up and asked them if I could bring it in I was even willing to pay for the treatment they said just leave it when u found it I took the bird in 3 hours later it died they could of saved but no they are just money grabbers don’t take your pet to them go somewhere else scumbags
Lynne Gaskell
2 Jul 2018
Brilliant service! My son had found an injured magpie and they were happy to take it in. On arrival the staff were very busy dealing with emergencies but they were lovely and caring. Thank you 😊
Chris K
1 May 2018
They do not specialise in treating hamsters but they did specialise in taking my money. Avoid if you have small animals.
Lisa Gould
11 Apr 2018
Very kind, caring, sadly could not save my cat but afterwards I received a lovely card from the vet with a packet of forget-me-not seeds. Very touched
Sarah Alexander
3 Apr 2018
Unluckly I've been here three times in the last year but on every occasion all staff have been polite and empathetic.
I've taken my cat and dog here for out of hours treatment and they've been very ...
Unluckly I've been here three times in the last year but on every occasion all staff have been polite and empathetic.
I've taken my cat and dog here for out of hours treatment and they've been very well looked after.
Side note:
Very pricey if you don't have insurance get ready to pay up
( only commenting on out of hours vet service)
Neil Watts
8 Feb 2018
Took our cat in after an accident in which he was quite seriously injured. We were initially quoted £1000-1500, to get him to the stage that he could be transferred to a specialist vet to do surgery ...
Took our cat in after an accident in which he was quite seriously injured. We were initially quoted £1000-1500, to get him to the stage that he could be transferred to a specialist vet to do surgery and then another £1500 or so for this aspect. After a couple of chasing phone calls, we we called at 10pm on Sunday night to advise that they hadn't even done the promised X-rays by this point, but that the specialists had said that the costs would be at least an extra £5000, and quite possibly more. Sadly, he had to be put to sleep as we don't have at least £6500 knocking around. In the 6 hours he was there, they gave him 1 lot of painkillers and kept him in an oxygen tent, and finally had to put him to sleep. The promised x-rays weren't done (which were included in the initial estimate). We paid a £500 deposit and yesterday they requested payment of an extra £300 - so £800 for one lot of painkillers, emergency fee and keeping him in an oxygen tent. Had they given a realistic and sensible estimate at the outset, we would, sadly have had to make the very difficult decision to let him go, but it seems to us that they were just trying to make as much money as possible from the initial consultation, before giving us the "bad news" about the true likely cost. Our poor cat had to suffer for an extra 6 hours with serious facial injuries due to this money grabbing and unrealistic approach. If I could give no stars, I would - it's all about the money. A formal complaint is in the process of being raised too.
Hayley Springett
12 Oct 2017
The service we received following my 6 month old puppy being brought to the out of hours clinic was appalling ! She broke her femur and was in extreme pain, at first we thought the vets were lovely bu...
The service we received following my 6 month old puppy being brought to the out of hours clinic was appalling ! She broke her femur and was in extreme pain, at first we thought the vets were lovely but things soon changed over night. The neglangent care given to my dog caused her to swallow a whole tea spoon over night. They laughed at this and it came across as they were blaming the 6 month old puppy for this (even though she was sedated and it is there one job to care for the pets admitted, not cause further harm). Following this incident my dog was referred to a specialist due to them not being able to remover the spoon by making her vomit ! (All while she had a broken femur). In the end we received the best treatment from the referral we had to Dick White referrals who fixed her leg and the spoon. Without laughing about the situation.
J Garlick
29 Jul 2017
I used vets now in Nottingham with my dog who had to be put to sleep because she wasn't given the right treatment she should have been drained and stabilized as she had a heart murmur but they did not...
I used vets now in Nottingham with my dog who had to be put to sleep because she wasn't given the right treatment she should have been drained and stabilized as she had a heart murmur but they did not do it I advise any one with complaints to go onto trustpilot as there are so many don't use them
john palfree
1 May 2017
Sent me to Twickenham at midnight when the specialist was in Cambridge!!! This delay nearly cost my dog to never walk again..
dickys tease
26 Oct 2016
disgusting took friends puppy to emergency vets now brinkley lane colchester they were going to charge me 900 for sewing a small piece of his ear up took him to companion care cowdray avenue and they ...
disgusting took friends puppy to emergency vets now brinkley lane colchester they were going to charge me 900 for sewing a small piece of his ear up took him to companion care cowdray avenue and they charge 300
Avoid vets now they wanted to cut a piece of his ear off they have no idea what they are doing AVOID AVOID AVOID
Nicola Quilter
9 Oct 2016
Absolutely awful vets. My cat was taken in for over night lodging as he was on a drip (drip provided by my other vet) all they had to do was put him in a cage. He was suppose to have drip in all night...
Absolutely awful vets. My cat was taken in for over night lodging as he was on a drip (drip provided by my other vet) all they had to do was put him in a cage. He was suppose to have drip in all night but they took it out after an hour as they couldn't be bothered to keep an eye on him.
Then they told me they didn't know what to charge me because they don't know how to work out the computer. Hour later they produced a 600 bill estimiate and try to get me to sign it, this then quickly reduced when I queried it to 150
Next day I came back to collect the cat, they then tried to charge me 180!!
Then I gave them my insurance papers to complete , over a week they still haven't done it and I need the money back! When I called to chase manager wouldn't come to phone, the rude receptionist told me I needed to call their head office as they couldn't process my claim?!?!
My other vets had no issues with it.
Because they owe me a refund and it's clearly a little difficult for them they've past me on.
Really annoyed and angry I now have to explain everything to someone else, without a guarantee of a refund of the money they owe.
Avoid this vets at all cost
Bad customer service
Staff haven't got a clue !!!
Tony Goodge
24 Aug 2016
Staff were absolutely amazing
Tayva Goodge
24 Aug 2016
Amazing staff. Out of hour prices but pets are in the best hands.
Jasmin Cox
15 Jun 2016
Absolutely terrible.
Brought my puppy here with an unexpected very severe bladder infection out of hours. We waited over 2 hours for an appointment with my puppy crying and bleeding on the floor befo...
Absolutely terrible.
Brought my puppy here with an unexpected very severe bladder infection out of hours. We waited over 2 hours for an appointment with my puppy crying and bleeding on the floor before we left because she was exhausted and stressed and we were nowhere near to being seen.
Got home incredibly late after driving far to see these vets out of ours and all it's done is made my puppy stressed out while she suffered and waited.
The vet was poor and far too relaxed- considering the state of my puppy you'd think he might consider actually treating animals instead of chatting to the receptionist.
I really would not recommend this vet's.
Harvey Duke
20 Dec 2015
Thought the whole process was money orientated went from 200 300 to 4000 in a matter of minutes,NO compassion what so ever ,My dog could have needed an operation for Blockage in colon ,when i asked th...
Thought the whole process was money orientated went from 200 300 to 4000 in a matter of minutes,NO compassion what so ever ,My dog could have needed an operation for Blockage in colon ,when i asked the Vet if he was capable of this Operation his reply was "I will have a go".Unprofessional ,Insensitive Ridiculous charges,They are a money making outfit that is run on Greed . (THIS IS MY OPINION BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE).
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