Find Trusted Vets in Croydon

Out-of-hours and emergency care

Vets in the UK must take steps to provide emergency first aid and pain relief 24 hours a day, but they do not have to staff their own practice overnight. Cover can be provided by the practice itself, shared with other practices or arranged with a separate emergency service. The RCVS says clients should be told the phone number, location, opening hours, type of cover and likely initial cost when they register, and be told again if anything changes.

Some Croydon practices send clients out of hours to emergency services elsewhere in south London. Before you travel, check your own practice's current out-of-hours instructions.

Choosing and registering with a vet

The RCVS Find a Vet service lets you search for practices and check that an individual vet is registered. Registration is separate from the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS), which is voluntary. A PSS-accredited practice has been independently assessed on areas including hygiene, emergency arrangements, equipment and staff training. Practices are reassessed every four years and can have spot checks.

The CMA's 2026 final report found that more than 60% of UK practices are wholly or partly owned by six large groups. A local-sounding name does not mean a practice is independent, so ask who owns it. Under the CMA's order of September 2026, the groups covered must show their ownership on websites, premises, signs and communications by March 2027. Ownership details are due to be added to Find a Vet later in 2027.

Prices and the CMA investigation

The CMA published its final report on veterinary services on 24 March 2026 and made its remedies legally binding in an order on 22 September 2026. The requirements come in over several dates.

Covered practices must publish prices for standard services and common flea, tick and worming products by December 2026 for larger businesses and March 2027 for smaller ones. Written estimates for treatment likely to cost £500 or more, and itemised bills, are due by June 2027 for larger businesses and September 2027 for smaller ones.

Practices will also have to tell clients they can ask for a written prescription and may be able to buy medicines more cheaply elsewhere. The prescription must be given on paper by the end of the consultation or digitally within 48 hours. These rules apply from June 2027 for larger businesses and September 2027 for smaller ones.

Prescription fees will be capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each extra medicine prescribed in the same consultation. Larger businesses must comply by March 2027 and smaller ones by September 2027.

Low-cost and charity care

PDSA gives free and reduced-cost treatment at its pet hospitals to owners who receive certain means-tested benefits and live in a hospital's catchment area. Free treatment is for people on means-tested Housing Benefit, means-tested Council Tax Support or Universal Credit with a housing element, and is limited to one pet per household. Reduced-cost treatment covers a wider range of benefits. Eligibility depends on your exact postcode, which can be checked on PDSA's website.

Blue Cross gives subsidised treatment to owners on listed means-tested benefits. Its nearest hospital's catchment covers CR4 and some SE postcodes, but not CR0, CR2 or the other CR districts.

Local RSPCA branches may help owners who are struggling with vet bills, and contribute to neutering costs for people on low incomes. Help depends on an application and the branch's terms.

Legal requirements

Dogs must be microchipped and registered by eight weeks old. Since 10 June 2024, owned cats in England, including indoor cats, must be microchipped and registered by 20 weeks old. The chip must be registered on an approved database and the contact details kept up to date. When a dog or cat changes owner, the new owner must make sure their details are recorded, unless the previous owner has already done this.

A microchip does not replace the separate rule that a dog in a public place must wear a collar and tag with the owner's name and address.

Registering with a vet is recommended but not a legal requirement. Owners do have a legal duty under animal welfare law to meet their pet's needs, including protecting it from pain, injury and disease.

Seasonal considerations

Adders live on the chalk grassland in the south of the borough. PDSA says a suspected adder bite is an emergency, especially from June to August when bites are most common.

In warm weather, get veterinary advice straight away if you think a dog has heatstroke. Grass seeds can work their way into a dog's skin and cause infection, so check your dog after walks in long grass and contact a vet if a seed has lodged.

In winter, antifreeze is a risk to cats, and festive foods such as chocolate and raisins can need urgent veterinary advice.

Over Christmas and on bank holidays, many practices switch to their out-of-hours arrangements instead of normal appointments. Check the practice's recorded message or website for current instructions, and order repeat medication before the practice closes.