not without a suit

Tried following your link about "subject access request", but it doesn't lead to the letter to which you refer.

Oooh! I like this site!

Says who? If it is a 'legal requirement' (as my vet is now claiming) when was the law changed (because we never used to need 6 monthly blood tests)? I suspect there's just been a re-reading of the drug companies' recommendations and an opportunity for more profiteering by all involved (the vets, the drug companies and the testing labs). I'd compromise on an annual check-up but this new insistence on a 6 monthly blood test (the results of which I never see and which in any case never vary) is just a money-making exercise for all involved (except me). EDIT: Just found this from the RCVS (nothing about 6 months!): Frequency of re-examinations Before prescribing a POM-V medicine, a veterinary surgeon must have the animal in question ‘under his or her care’ and have made a ‘clinical assessment’. This requires a veterinary surgeon to see or examine an animal, or to have seen or have examined an animal recently enough to have the animal ‘under his or her care’. 9) The RCVS provides an interpretation of ‘under his or her care’ which forms the legal basis for the frequency of consultations. On the basis of this interpretation, the frequency of re-examination is a professional decision for the veterinary surgeon. Under his care 5. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations do not define the phrase 'under his care' and the RCVS has interpreted it as meaning that: a. the veterinary surgeon must have been given the responsibility for the health of the animal or herd by the owner or the owner's agent b. that responsibility must be real and not nominal c. the animal or herd must have been seen immediately before prescription or, d. recently enough or often enough for the veterinary surgeon to have personal knowledge of the condition of the animal or current health status of the herd or flock to make a diagnosis and prescribe. e. the veterinary surgeon must maintain clinical records of that herd/flock/individual What amounts to 'recent enough' must be a matter for the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon in the individual case. (RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct, Part 2H) 10)Due to numerous variables (for example, condition, age, weight, medicine, species/breed), how often an animal should be seen or examined will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual case and is a matter for the professional judgment of the veterinary surgeon. This is a professional decision, made in the best interests of the animal and should not be made on commercial grounds.

We've been having an ever-escalating argument with our vet about repeat prescriptions for our dog with an under-active thyroid. We've had blood tests every year or two (she's now 6 years old) and the dosage of her medication hasn't fluctuated for years, but now the vet is insisting that it's a "legal requirement" that her bloods are checked every 6 months (at over a £100 a time!). Then there's the argument over the cost of her meds: the vet charges about 3 times as much as they are available for on the Internet, so we pay the vet over £10 for printing out a bit of paper with a signature (it's called a prescription), so we can get the meds online! Now our other dog has an infection and needs a prescription antibiotic: we were charged £1.90 per tablet, when online they're available for 45p. I know the old chestnut about vets' overheads compared to the Internet, etc., but surely they make enough money from their fees and charges, without adding a 400% mark-up on meds that they insist our pets need. We're so fed up with our vet's increasing profiteering, we've investigated paying the PDSA for our pets' treatment, but we don't qualify...