Find trusted vets in Barking & Dagenham

There isn't a 24-hour emergency vet hospital in Barking and Dagenham. If your pet needs urgent help at night, the nearest round-the-clock services are in Romford and Upminster in Havering, and in Wanstead in Redbridge.

If your pet is ill at night

Every practice has to make sure its clients can get emergency first aid and pain relief at any hour, but it doesn't have to provide that itself. If your practice uses a separate emergency service at night, it should give you its details when you register. For Barking and Dagenham, that service is likely to be outside the borough.

Help with vet bills

PDSA runs a pet hospital in Romford and a pet clinic in Ilford, and parts of the borough fall in their catchment areas. To use one, you need to live in a catchment and get certain benefits. Treatment is free for one pet if you get means-tested Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or Universal Credit with the housing element, and low cost on a longer list of benefits, including Pension Credit and PIP. PDSA's website has a checker that tells you whether your address qualifies. If you're a PDSA client, its out-of-hours emergency care is only for people registered in the last three years.

Celia Hammond Animal Trust runs a low-cost clinic in Canning Town with no catchment area, for owners who can't afford private fees. Pets need to be neutered, or booked in to be.

If you have a cat, the C4 scheme covers neutering and microchipping for £10 if you're on benefits or your household income is under £25,000. Some of its partner vets are in the borough.

Choosing a practice

When you're deciding where to register, ask which emergency service covers the practice at night and how you'd get there from home.