Register at our pet care clinics

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We have two pet care clinics that treat pets whose owners cannot afford private practice fees. Each clinic is run by a private practice that’s agreed to partner with our charity to provide vet treatment to pet owners eligible for Blue Cross support.

Derby and York pet care clinics are open to new registrations. Please note that both clinics have a monthly limit on registration numbers and will close to new registrations once that monthly limit has been reached.

Registrations are open between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

To become a pet care clinic client, you will need to register below. Registration lasts for 12 months.

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Note

The £55 registration fee is non-refundable, as it covers our administrative costs. Please ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria and have checked our catchments areas, prior to registering.

Am I eligible for vet care at a pet care clinic?

To be eligible, you need to live in the catchment area for the clinic and receive one of the following means-tested benefits: 

  • Pension credit (not the standard state retirement pension)
  • Housing benefit
  • Income support
  • Working tax credit
  • Council tax reduction (not 25 per cent single person discount)
  • Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
  • Income-based employment and support allowance
  • Universal credit
  • Child tax credit

Please note that each clinic has a limited number of spaces available.

Our pet care clinic veterinary treatment is contribution-based. This means that each time you visit the clinic you’ll be asked to contribute an amount that’s affordable to you towards the treatment your pet has received. Blue Cross is a charity and does not get any money from the government.

What services do Blue Cross pet care clinics offer?

When you register, you’ll pay an annual registration fee of £55 for each pet. This covers:

  • the costs of processing your registration
  • vaccinations (if needed)
  • a health check
  • microchipping (if needed)

Clinics also offer low cost flea and worm treatments. Our pet care clinics do charge extra fees on for out of hours services (see FAQs below for costs).

Our pet care clinics offer general veterinary treatment, from check ups to vaccinations, from pain relief to operations to fix broken bones and remove tumours. We’re not a specialist service, so we’re not able to offer extra treatments that private practices can offer, including MRI scans and other scans, hydrotherapy, specialist testing or any expensive drugs, treatments or procedures.

Register at a pet care clinic

To register at one of our pet care clinics complete the form below, upload proof of your benefit and pay the £55 registration fee. We’ll take your payment and check that you are eligible.

If for any reason we can't confirm your eligibility from the documents you give us, we'll contact you for further information. We'll then email you to confirm payment has been taken and give you information about using our service. If it turns out you aren't eligible, we'll refund your registration fee.

Your registration is not active until we have confirmed this to you by email. We aim to process all applications within five working days of receiving them.

Note

If the clinic does not appear in the dropdown they are now full and are not accepting registrations. Please check back for any updates.

FAQs

You'll need your benefit award letter which needs to show that you are currently in receipt of one of our eligible benefits. The letter must be dated within the last 12 months and clearly show your name and address. You'll also need a debit or credit card to make payment of the registration fee (this is taken by PayPal, but you do not need a PayPal account to be able to make payment).

If you're renewing your registration, you'll also need your renewal letter from Blue Cross (this shows the reference number for your pet that you’ll need to enter).

Your registration fee covers the cost of processing your Blue Cross registration (valid for 12 months), a health check for your pet, and vaccinations and a microchip (if required).

For any treatment supported by Blue Cross, you’ll just be asked to contribute what you can afford towards your pet’s care on the day you visit.

However, not all Blue Cross supported treatment is contribution based, some treatments carry a fixed fee which is payable by you:

  • Registration fee per pet of £55
  • Flea and worming products – available at significantly reduced prices
  • Neutering costs – subsidised by Blue Cross but you’ll still need to pay a set amount towards the procedure
  • Out of hours emergency charge of £65 if your pet’s circumstances are assessed as an emergency outside of the clinic’s normal opening hours

If your pet receives any treatment not supported by Blue Cross, this will be charged at the practice’s standard fees.

Blue Cross supports general and routine veterinary treatment and tests that the vet caring for your pet believes is necessary in their professional opinion. This treatment and tests may include:

  • X-rays
  • ultrasound
  • blood tests carried out in practice
  • pain relief
  • antibiotics
  • steroids
  • simple fracture repairs or amputation
  • where appropriate, euthanasia (putting to sleep)

The tests and treatment that our charity helps cover the costs of depends on the equipment and skills available at the veterinary practice Blue Cross has partnered with. We are unable to fund specialist treatment at any vet practice.

Your vet will let you know all available options, but unfortunately Blue Cross may not be able to support all options. If tests or treatment are available at the vet practice, another local vet practice, or at a specialist vet practice, but are not covered by Blue Cross support, your vet will explain this to you but if you decide to go ahead with that treatment you will need to cover the full costs yourself.

Yes, by registering at the clinic you have registered as a client of the practice we have partnered with. That practice’s policies and procedures will apply to you in the same way that they do to a private client. The only difference is that some of the care and treatment your pet receives is supported financially by Blue Cross.

You can register up to one or two pets, depending on your local clinic policy:

  • Derby – two pets
  • York – two pets

If your pet passes away during the time they are registered with the clinic, then you may register another pet, subject to the clinic having funding available, and payment of the £55 registration fee for the new pet. If you need to give up or rehome your pet during the time they are registered, you will not be able to register another until the previous pet’s registration has expired.

Blue Cross is a charity and does not get any funding from the government. We rely completely on the generosity of our supporters to keep going. So many pets need our help and we want to be able to help as many of them as we can, which means we need to limit the type of services we offer. We offer basic and routine treatment to keep pets pain-free and ensure their wellbeing.

Call your pet care clinic. The vet team will assess whether your pet needs to come to the clinic for urgent treatment. If your pet does need to be seen, you will be charged the out of hours fee of £65. This charge is subsidised by Blue Cross. The £65 needs to be paid directly to the practice.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be given further details of what to do and locations of where to take your pet in an emergency situation.

All available options will be discussed with you by the veterinary surgeon at the clinic. Unfortunately, because we are a charity and need to help as many pets as possible with our funding, Blue Cross may not be able to support all options for your pet.

Any veterinary services that Blue Cross does not support financially are still available to you at your own expense. How and where to access these will be explained to you by your vet.

If your pet passes away during the time they are registered with the clinic then you may register another pet (subject to the clinic having funding available and payment of the £55 registration fee for the new pet). If you need to give up or rehome your pet during the time they are registered as a Blue Cross client, you will not be able to register another until that pet’s registration has expired.

If you still meet the eligibility criteria, and the practice has funding and space available, you will be able to renew your registration for a further 12 months.