Earls Hall Veterinary Group - The Veterinary Hospital – Vets in Southend-On-Sea
Clinic Overview
- Many positive reviewers describe prompt, caring treatment, including an emergency dog seen within minutes and a new pet owner who found the team very helpful. - Clear explanations and reassurance are a recurring strength in positive feedback, especially around ongoing treatment and follow-up communication from Mark Freeman. - The most common complaints are about pricing and value, with criticism covering pet travel fees, prescription costs, vaccination pricing, Healthy Pet Club cancellation charges and a disputed recheck fee.
Services
- •Routine veterinary care: consultations, follow-up appointments, vaccinations, microchipping, neutering and six-month health checks.
- •Nurse clinics and preventive care: blood pressure checks, blood sampling, parasite control, anal sac expression, grooming and nail clipping.
- •Dentistry, surgery and referrals: dental treatment, surgery, and referral options for soft tissue, orthopaedic and keyhole/laparoscopic procedures.
- •Diagnostics and imaging: diagnostic testing, X-ray, ultrasound and an in-house lab, plus a cardiology referral service. Recent reviews mention a cat being investigated for breathing problems, later diagnosed with a heart condition and managed on medication.
- •Species seen: dogs and cats, plus an exotics GP service covering small mammals, reptiles and tortoises, birds, backyard poultry and wild birds.
- •Additional support: pet travel documentation, home visits, end-of-life care, and on-site emergency care with full-time night staff. Recent reviews mention an unannounced emergency dog being seen within minutes and a follow-up phone call about the care of a stray cat.
Pricing
Published prices suggest the clinic sits above average, based on a partial sample of comparable services. Reviews on cost are mixed but lean negative, with several owners describing the clinic as expensive or poor value for pet travel work, prescriptions and follow-up charges, while one emergency visit was described as very acceptable on price. Examples mentioned by reviewers include a £162 kitten castration followed by a later £14.84 medication charge, a disputed £60 recheck fee, and higher-than-expected costs for travel paperwork and prescription medication.
People
- •Mark Freeman (vet): praised in reviews for calm, clear communication, kind handling of a cat with respiratory and heart problems, and taking time to phone an owner about a stray cat's care.
- •Reception staff: described as helpful when owners needed appointments quickly.
- •Area manager (not named): thanked by one reviewer for stepping in and mediating during a pet travel complaint.
- •Ian Daly: named in an older negative review.
Reviews
Google reviews show 4.3 stars from 398 reviews.
- •Many positive reviewers describe prompt, caring treatment, including an emergency dog seen within minutes and a new pet owner who found the team very helpful.
- •Clear explanations and reassurance are a recurring strength in positive feedback, especially around ongoing treatment and follow-up communication from Mark Freeman.
- •The most common complaints are about pricing and value, with criticism covering pet travel fees, prescription costs, vaccination pricing, Healthy Pet Club cancellation charges and a disputed recheck fee.
- •A smaller but repeated concern is communication and administration, including poor handovers on pet travel cases, delays in updates, unclear explanation of extra charges, and frustration over an appointment that was later said could have been handled by sending a photo.
