Earls Hall Veterinary Group - The Veterinary Hospital | Vets in Southend-On-Sea, Essex

- Several recent reviewers describe prompt, caring treatment, including a dog seen within minutes after arriving unannounced with an emergency. - Positive feedback highlights clear explanations and reassurance, especially around a cat's respiratory illness, later heart diagnosis and improvement on medication. - Communication is a recurring positive in some reviews, with praise for helpful reception staff and a vet taking time to phone and discuss ongoing care.

Earls Hall Veterinary Group - The Veterinary Hospital in Southend-On-Sea is a CVS-owned practice offering routine first-opinion care alongside diagnostics, emergency support and referral services. Website information points to a broader service range than a basic branch clinic, including imaging, in-house lab work, exotics appointments, home visits and end-of-life care, with on-site emergency care and full-time night staff. Recent feedback is largely positive about prompt treatment, clear explanations and caring follow-up, though there are also some notable complaints about pet travel administration and fees.

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 and surgery: 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. The clinic also offers a cardiology referral service; one recent review mentions 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/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. Recent comments on cost are mixed: one emergency visit was described as “very acceptable” on price, while other reviewers complained about pet travel charges and a £60 follow-up fee that one owner says they had expected to be free.

People

•Mark Freeman (vet): named warmly in recent reviews for calm, clear communication, treatment of a cat with a respiratory problem and later heart condition, and for taking time to phone an owner about a stray cat's care.
•Reception staff: described in one recent review as very helpful when an appointment was needed quickly.
•Area manager (not named): mentioned positively in a pet travel complaint for stepping in and mediating.
•Ian Daly: named in one negative review referring to an incident the reviewer says happened several years earlier.

Reviews

Google reviews show 4.3 stars from 377 reviews.

•Several recent reviewers describe prompt, caring treatment, including a dog seen within minutes after arriving unannounced with an emergency.
•Positive feedback highlights clear explanations and reassurance, especially around a cat's respiratory illness, later heart diagnosis and improvement on medication.
•Communication is a recurring positive in some reviews, with praise for helpful reception staff and a vet taking time to phone and discuss ongoing care.
•Negative feedback centres on pet travel paperwork, with complaints about handover when a vet was off sick, delays, difficulty getting updates and dissatisfaction with how the issue was handled. A separate reviewer also objected to being billed £60 for a brief recheck they believed would be free.

Reviews for Earls Hall Veterinary Group - The Veterinary Hospital

Note: Showing the 10 most recent Google reviews out of 377 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.

Caitlin Grace

1 month ago

Tina Harper

3 months ago

I want to share a review of the care for my cat. I was so very concerned when my cat's breathing became laboured but it was soon established he had a respiratory infection but when this cleared he was found to have a heart condition. Mark Freeman, the vet, treated Dougie with concern and respect and explained everything to me calmly and clearly which helped me feel very reassured. I'm.pleased to say now on medication Dougie is much better and happier. Thank you all so much Earls Hall Tina Harper

Shelley

4 months ago

I had a very poor experience with this clinic regarding pet travel arrangements. The initial vet went off sick just three days before our travel date, and no one was assigned to continue the process, leaving us completely unsupported. A laboratory system outage then delayed us by two weeks, yet each time I called for updates, I struggled to get any information until I escalated the issue to the area manager, who thankfully stepped in. We eventually secured a faster testing option, but only after significant resistance from the vet involved. While some factors were outside their control, the lack of urgency, initiative, and problem-solving from the clinic made the situation far more stressful than it needed to be. The service was also extremely overpriced, and the vet who took over dealt with me in an unprofessional and disrespectful manner. I am grateful to the area manager for mediating between myself and the vet, but overall this was a very disappointing experience. We followed the correct process to claim back the expenses we lost due to poor service, but the practice showed no willingness to help or take responsibility. It’s deeply frustrating to see a place charge such high fees while delivering substandard care and customer service. I cannot recommend this practice. We felt overcharged, dismissed, and treated poorly from start to finish. A very disappointing experience overall.

Ashley Smith

5 months ago

Samantha Petty-Mayor

Needed an appointment rather speedily. Really helpful reception staff and caring vet. Thank you 😊

WENDY1966BSL

6 months ago

Greatest service. Walked in unannounced with an emergency and my dog was seen in minutes and received fantastic care. The cost was very acceptable too.

A very bad experience with pet travel with this clinic. The first vet went off sick 3 days before we were due to travel with no one asked to pick up where he left us. The laboratory had a system outage which put us two weeks behind our travel date. Every time I called I couldn’t get any answers until I made a complaint to the area manager and she stepped in. In the end we managed to get a faster form of testing underway which the vet was very reluctant to do. Some of what happened was out of their control but they certainly had no urgency and was not willing to source other ways around the problems we had. Very disappointed and massively over priced. Also a very ill mannered vet that took over and spoke to me in an appalling manor. Thank you to the area manager for mediating between myself and the vet.

Susan Franklin

8 months ago

Earls Hall really went above and beyond to provide the best care for a stray cat that I took to them on the advice of the Cats Protection. Mark the vet was so kind and caring, taking time to phone me to discuss the cats care and providing an excellent service.

Daniel Batchelor

9 months ago

WHAT A RIP OFF! They treated my cat which i was happy to pay for. They advised i need to come back in a week for a checkup. The cat didnt need to go back as he was fine but i did as they asked. The vets spent less than 30 second with the cat and said he is fine. I was advised there was no cost for this so left. We then got a letter advising there was a mistake and they should have chaged us for the checkup.They then charged £60 for the 1 minute off work. I will never use this vet again.

Earls Hall Veterinary Group - The Veterinary Hospital