The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre Recensioni 41

Would not recommend. Took my cat to extract a broken canine and the vet said they needed to sand the other one in a dome shape so that wouldn’t poke the lip which is standard for canine removal on cats I was told. However, when I received my cat the canine was indeed sanded but into a very pointy shape (even pointier than his normal canines which is silly). The cat continuously poked himself when opening and closing the mouth even drawing blood. Called to ask what could be done and why was the result different to I was told it was going to be (domed not pointy) and the doctor’s assistant was super rude. Really bad experience.

Update: regarding your response below. The point is that the what I was told just before the procedure (domed shape) was very different from the end result (super sharp point)… and when I enquired about it, I didn’t “feel” they were rude, they were definitely rude raising their voice and saying “we don’t do miracles here”.

We have been attending the Ralph for 18 months now. The service, care, professionalism and compassion that pervades the Ralph is extraordinary. The staff are so kind and we are confident that our treasured and much-loved dog is in the best and safest hands possible.

My little chi had a syncope episode back in January (she had previously been referred to The Ralph for scans for her heart murmur in 2019).
The Ralph got her booked in the same day as her breathing was very fast and she needed to be seen ASAP. She was given medication and scans etc. And came out looking like her normal self within a couple of hours.

Had a chat with the cardiologist who was very informative about her condition and offered a lot of advice. I was made aware that I could call anytime I wanted and bring her in if I was ever concerned. She was put on medication for heart failure.

She had a couple of relapses since being diagnosed and each time The Ralph were amazing with communication and getting her dose changed to stabilise her.

The last visit to The Ralph was at the beginning of April. My pup had to have an overnight stay in ICU but was getting discharged later the next day! Unfortunately, before she was discharge, she suffered a cardiac arrest (Believed to be due to a little tear in her heart). Obviously I am devastated but it gives me comfort knowing she was in the best place possible. They could and would have done everything possible to make her comfortable.

The ICU, Cardiology & bereavement teams have all been amazing, cannot fault them at all!
The reception staff were also great and lovely.

I'm so glad my pup got referred to The Ralph for her treatment. I'm so lucky to have a great hospital so close to home!

Thank you to everyone at The Ralph for taking care of my baby the past few months 💖

*EDITED TO ADD*
At the start of each visit, a member of staff took me through a consent form. This form included a "from" and "to" price so I was made aware of what price I might have to pay, before any treatment took place.
On a couple of occasions, my pup was very unwell so I gave verbal consent so they could see her straight away. When someone was available, they went through the consent form with me as normal. Even on these occasions, I was still told an estimated price and how much it could go up to (depending what was needed). I was never charged more than the maximum I was told - in fact, I believe the bill was always under the maximum I was told.

They also sorted everything with my insurance company, I would just get a "balance remaining" bill for what the insurance didn't pay. Made life so much easier having all this sorted for me!

My dog Scout became very unwell in February 2024. Local diagnosis was not possible. Scout was referred to The Ralph (77 miles and a 90 minute drive from home) for further tests. From arrival to discharge and follow up I felt well informed, reassured and we were confident that Scout was in good hands. We spoke to 4 different consultants over the 3 nights Scout was in ITU and updates were mostly given at the planned times but it is understandable that sometimes the calls were a bit later than expected due to the nature of work. We were sent photos and an update from the nurses which was so thoughtful. Eventually we got a diagnosis and Scout improved sufficiently to come home. My only criticism is that once home she appeared to become unwell and i phoned for out of hours advice as instructed. Whoever I spoke to said they would speak to the consultant who knew Scout's case and I would get a call back. No-one ever rang me back but thankfully Scout just bucked up. Obviously I would have contacted them again if I remained concerned. Scout was also extremely happy to go back for her follow up review, pulling me into the building and wagging her tail. For me this is the greatest review possible and proves without a doubt that she received loving care whilst an inpatient. Words cannot express how glad we are to have her back to her normal, and how grateful we are to everyone at The Ralph. Every member of staff we spoke to was kind and understood our anxieties. Thank you so much.

I can’t even put into words the treatment we received as customers and our dog . Requesting £2000 within 2 hours and wanting more . Our dog left in the same condition and we had to go back to an alternative vet . Phone messages recorded that they are only just coming into profit after 4 yrs !!! Also stated I shouldn’t have purchased such an expensive dog. The case will continue we have been left mortified. Then a text message to request a further £744 !!! So £2744 for a day and a half !!!

I wanted to express my utmost gratitude for the exceptional care that my dog, Pippa Griffiths, received during our recent visit to The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre.

The quality of care surpassed all expectations, and I am truly grateful for the professionalism and compassion demonstrated by your entire team. In particular, I would like to commend Stavros Karydas for his outstanding expertise and dedication.

Furthermore, I would like to extend my appreciation to the wider team, including Daniella McCready, Holly Wilson, and Ana Blazinovic. Their warmth, empathy, and proficiency contributed immensely to the positive experience we had at The Ralph. It was evident that each member of the team takes great pride in their work and genuinely cares for the well-being of their patients.

Overall, I cannot speak highly enough of the level of care and professionalism demonstrated by everyone at The Ralph.

A Big shout out to Chris for rescuing our beloved dog Europe! The entire team displayed incredible dedication, surpassing expectations and consistently showing compassion throughout. I have nothing but praise for them!

I cannot recommend The Ralph more highly. My dog has just spent 8 nights with them, very ill with a gastric condition. They were professional, communicative, attentive, caring and absolute experts in getting our dog on the road to recovery. Particular mention to Javier and Patricia, the incredible nursing team and the receptionists, who are just wonderful. Thank you all

Absolutely incredible experience at The Ralph. Multiple updates daily despite how busy the surgeons and vet nurses are in theatre. We took our dog following a referral from our vets, as she required surgery to remove a large bladder stone and what turned out to be a 15cm cyst caused by a foreign body. We were referred on a Friday afternoon and received a call from The Ralph on Friday evening, booking us in for the coming Tuesday. We had a consultation, went through everything with the surgeon and they kept her overnight to perform surgery the following day. Wonderfully efficient and thorough in our time of need. They were extremely diligent in explaining everything, keeping us updated and providing the best care for our dog. We were able to visit her out of ours and speak with her nurse. They performed additional scans at no cost just for peace of mind. She is now home with us and is recovering incredibly well. We cannot thank them enough for how amazing and caring they have been with our 3yo rescue.

Professional, compassionate, attentive. The whole team at The Ralph, from surgeon to nurses and from reception to finance, were very sensitive to the needs of our tiny sick kitten and her anxious guardians. Explanations of treatments were given, we were updated twice a day, or more if we needed. I felt they supported us extremely well and did everything they could. No, it’s not a cheap option, but I would not hesitate to use them again if placed in a similar situation.

A hugely disappointing experience- shockingly high fees (quoted estimate of £2-4.5k for removing throat splinters / associated trauma and dealing with an abscess; came to over £5.5k) ; no call backs when I rang to check how my elderly dog was after his operation and throughout the following day, despite repeated promises someone would ring me; continued ringing of my son to ask his permission, despite being clearly told to ring me as the owner and the one paying the bill; doubled up on pain relief medication despite being told my dog wouldn't take the oral tablets, particularly since he'd had a throat op, then to top it all, a patronising response when I queried the fees and highlighted the poor service, referencing the option to talk to them if I can't pay the bill! I am not in the habit of leaving bad reviews, preferring to raise issues directly. However their response gave no indication that they had taken on board any of the feedback. What a shame as they have marketed themselves as a genuinely caring practice but this was not my experience. In fairness, our dog has fully recovered now which is a huge relief to our family and I am grateful to them for that.

The most caring, kind team I have ever come across. They did everything they could to save my dog; and when his cancer was too widespread they helped me do the right thing for him when I was really struggling. They even sent us a card signed by the nurses that care for him.
Absolutely the best tertiary veterinary service.

My cat was referred to the Ralph clinic by our local vets after I was concerned her heart murmur was getting worse. From the very first contact until the very last they have been very professional and informative. On the day when I went in with my cat, I was amazed how well she was looked after and how much the staff made me feel comfortable and at ease. Before the scans were conducted I was informed about all steps they were planning to take on the day. The I left her and returned within 1h to collect her. At that point I was explained what the findings are and asked if I had any more questions. Although the scans were on the more expensive side, some of it was covered by pet insurance. But also, it felt like the Ralph did not hike the charges up as some vets do. The visit was well worth the cost and my mind was put at ease as I found out what was the cause of her heart murmur. Overall really impressed with the Ralph!

I have also used them to put a direct claim with my insurers, which worked really well however due to my pet insurance company taking very long to approve the claim I had to settle the bill myself. But this wasn’t down to the Ralph and their communication was always to the point.

we have had a terrible experience with customer service and poor communication, no calls back for 3 days as vet was off ill, reception didn't know this and staff didn't pick up. Constantly having to chase up and ended up taking to our own vet to get dog checked out as he is recovering from suspected slipped disk. Finance didn't ring back to refund us after significant amount owed for the deposit required for potential treatment. Thankfully our dog seems to have recovered ok but any relapse or problems in future he will be going elsewhere!

In March 2023, my dog Zoe went to the Ralph for an abdominal ultrasound and CT scan of the brain.

Her liver function tests were very abnormal, and I am not certain that a resident inserting needles into her liver was indicated, but they called me to say she had a big haemorrhage, and was in ICU. The CT hadn't happened as a result.

After 2 days of this, whereby costs soared to £7500, I took home a dog who couldn't walk, and the discharge summary mentions:

"At the time of discharge, Zoe presented a markedly abnormal gait, suspected to be secondary to pain from lack of effective
analgesia and positioning for the CT scan (back legs extended)"

I have videos to this effect.

To this day, the hyperextension injuries persist, and my dog can't walk. She needs a lot of expensive rehab, possibly surgery. The Ralph caused this.

My dog had 20 sessions of radiotherapy in a scanner in Edinburgh, and many other scans elsewhere. None gave her bilateral hyperextension injuries.

My dog is now under the care of the Aura hospital in Guildford, and the contrast in care couldn't be better, run by consultants, whom I never saw at the Ralph.

On the day of discharge from the Ralph, I had already paid £7500, which severely compromised what I could pay for Zoe thereafter.

Nonetheless, I was sent multiple other invoices, and am now being chased for £56 remaining, which was all that was outstanding at the time.

The Ralph damaged my dog severely, and the inflated cost has put financial pressure on me to fix the achilles tendon issues inflicted.

As far as I'm concerned they should out this right, but just avoid this place, Aura/Fitzpatricks is so much better, and saved my dog's life.

Shocking!!! Messed up my dogs insurance as their vet couldn’t speak correct English! Not my fault that the Italian vet couldn’t relate the info to bought by many insurance! These are a scam! Done several scans at over £4K and have misdiagnosed my dogs condition!! Avoid this place at all costs!!

Fantastic place. My rescue dog had a pan carpal arthrodesis. Top vet Alan Danielski did his operation with great sucess!!!! A wonderful top class Vet and vetinary Hospital. Would recommend to anyone.

My Seven year old ESS joined the Research programme at The Ralph in Marlow in Bucks. He had realignment surgery in November and December 2020. He suffered from Bilateral IOHC and ED.He is now deceased aged 7 !
He was accepted onto programme having had previously had surgery, we were told this wasn’t a problem.
In the 15 months post operative period he never recovered from the surgery, he suffered repeated infections,pain,chronic limping and the off loading of weight led to problems with shoulders ,sacral and lumbar spine , tail junction and hips.
The advice from the surgeon was “give it time “ ,”Can’t be related to the surgery “, “ the infection isn’t caused by surgery “, “ take him off all those meds” and “get him exercising.”whilst giving this advice my dog was crippled with pain caused by infections which vet denied could be a possibility and couldn’t even walk outside to toilet, I had to carry him.
The post surgical advice has led to such appalling postural change that so much irreversible collateral damage occurred His front legs became seriously deformed in the operative and post op period.
The vet showed a total disregard for other veterinary professionals and ignored their diagnosis of infections of the post operative site based on short video clips. Even though he was told of classic symptoms of high temperature in the elbows and chronic limping. A full assessment of my dog by an independent vet clinic was startling in its diagnosis of the amount of damage that had occurred because of surgery but this was not deemed as relevant because he hadn’t been pointlessly scanned under general anaesthesia as the damage had already occurred.
The vets only offer was to do more surgery on the elbows in spite of being told he was far too frail for surgery let alone a 14 hour round trip to the clinic for a scan. Ironically the surgery he offered was similar to the failed surgery his innovative method was meant to correct .So my dog was removed from the study for not attending the final scan!
My dog was taking a cocktail of drugs to reduce inflammation, control his pain and protect his organs. At one point we were told to stop the meds without any regard to weaning him off slowly or consideration to why he needed them and the impact the removal would have. He was taking Amantadine ,paracetamol ,metacam ,weekly cartrophen, denamarin and dasuquin alongside hydrotherapy and phsiotherapy to try and keep him comfortable. Sadly we were no longer able to control his pain as his whole MSK system was compromised and had to make the decision to Put to Sleep on March 19th 2022!
I joined the study as a member of a support group page on fB. I subsequently found the surgeon to be the moderator who was using it to recruit dogs for his study. I found him to be manipulative, blocking negative comments ,blocking members and ending discussions which didn’t suit him under the guise of keeping it a positive site. Hardly a professional approach which didn’t allow informed choice. Indeed I received a direct threat to remove me from the page if I didn’t behave ! The clinic itself removed it’s complaints procedure from its site within a couple of days of my complaint and said they were updating it. They refused several requests of mine to receive said policy and failed to adhere to their own stated protocols. The clinic is blasé and casual thinking nothing of disregarding data protection law when it comes to complaints.
Going to The Ralph proved to be emotionally damaging ,financially crippling (£14,000)and deadly. RIP My beautiful boy Bramble aged 7 ,taken far too young 19.3 22


I dont recommend these people.. ignore owners.

I have a dog which was attacked & her leg was damaged at the joints. This has been ignored not only by these people but my own vets.

They ignored my concerns & operated on my dog making her condition worse. Not all common procedures go well if you ignore underlying issues which the Ralph has. She has deformitys which were ignored because these people think they know better & even then ignore each other & think that one consultant think they know more then the other. I've had no consistency been disrespected. Mugged off completely.

After operation on my dog & making it even harder for her to walk then tell me how I was right & my dog has hip dysplasia? When I ask if by them ignoring me & operating on my dog without knowing her full condition IGNORED? Complaints are not being addressed & IGNORED my Google reviews & comments on Facebook are being removed by the Ralph.

These people have little respect for pet owners & still my complaints haven't been addressed.

These people are unregulated. Use & abuse pets & pull on owners heartstrings

Very disappointed with our experience at the Ralph. Sadly they misdiagnosed the illness of our dog which sadly resulted in her dying. I wouldn’t recommend.