Frequently Asked Questions
We have three purpose-built facilities in Queensland. Stafford and North Lakes, located in Brisbane, and our newest hospital in Warana on the Sunshine Coast.
These hospitals are all equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure your pet receives the best care and is staffed by a team of experienced emergency vets, nurses and technicians.
24/7! All of our emergency departments are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
No, you do not need an appointment.
As an emergency and out of hours service, we operate on a triage basis just like in human ER rooms. This can mean wait times can be unpredictable, although we try and see all patients as quickly as possible.
The cost of your pet’s care will depend on their condition and treatment needs.
During your consultation with the emergency veterinarian, you will be given an estimate for the cost of your pet’s treatment.
Please provide our staff with your pet’s insurance policy details on admission and we can provide you with the information required for your claim to be processed. The submission process may differ depending on your insurance provider.
It is important to check your policy to understand what your pet is covered for and any treatment cost limits on your policy.
We offer GapOnly, which is an innovative payment service that works with selected pet insurance brands, so you can access the benefit right away for eligible expenses and only pay the gap. To check to see if your insurance provider is partnered with GapOnly® please visit their website.
Please be aware that a GapOnly® claim can only be processed during their opening hours and so may not be available for out of hours needs:
Monday – Friday 8:00am – 10:00pm
Saturday 8:00am – 5:00pm
(AEST or AEDT as applicable, excluding NSW public holidays)
Some procedures and diagnostics (such as x-rays, ultrasounds, CT or MRI scans and minor surgical procedures) require your pet to remain still for a period of time for the procedure to be successfully completed. To ensure that your pet remains still and comfortable, we may utilise sedation or general anaesthesia depending on the procedure and what is required.
Having your pet’s fur clipped before a procedure or diagnostic testing is a common practice in veterinary medicine, and it serves several important purposes. For procedures, they may need to have the area clipped to ensure sterility (including catheter placement and surgical procedures).
For diagnostic procedures such as ultrasounds, pets will often need to be clipped as ultrasound waves are unable to penetrate fur. This allows us to remove interferences and obtain high quality diagnostic images.
We encourage you to visit your pet, as we feel that it’s part of your pet’s recovery. Please call prior to arrange a suitable time. We try to avoid visits between 5:00pm – 7:00pm due to emergency case needs during these hours. There may also be a wait to see your pet depending on consultation room availability.
Visits will occur in a consultation room, not in our treatment area. This ensures you can have a more personal visitation period with your pet. Visits are kept to 15 minutes, to ensure your pet’s treatments and observations are able to be performed on time. Some patients enjoy visits and others can become stressed, so depending on your pet’s demeanour and their condition, we will make suggestions about visits on a case-by-case basis.
We will forward a full medical report detailing all treatments and diagnostics performed whilst in our care to your primary care veterinarian. If your pet is in hospital for more than one day, then a daily update will also be sent to your vet. Please let our client services team know if your primary care clinician has changed so we can update our records accordingly.
We keep animal lost and found records for any members of the public who contact us to report their pet missing, or when a lost pet is brought into our hospital. If you have lost your pet, please phone us so we can collect your details. In the event an animal with a similar description to your pet is brought into our hospital, we will contact you.
We have microchip scanners at all of our hospitals. If a lost pet is brought into our facilities, the microchip details will be checked against the databases, and we will attempt to make contact with the registered owner. Please make sure your pet’s registered details are up to date and correct. We recommend that you also register your pet as “lost” with your local council, the RSPCA, and any other veterinary hospitals or after-hours clinics in your area.
We keep animal lost and found records for any members of the public who contact us to report their pet missing or when a lost pet is brought into our hospital. If you have found a pet, we will record the animals’ details in our registry.
We are able to scan an animal for a microchip (at no cost to you) and try to locate an owner through the microchip database. Should the animal appear injured, we can provide first aid and stabilisation until the owner can be located. We also work closely with the RSPCA, local councils and other entities to try and reunite lost and found animals with their owners.
As a busy veterinary hospital, we have limited capacity to care for healthy stray animals. If you have found a healthy stray animal, please contact your nearest animal shelter in the first instance as they will be able to provide the appropriate environment and care for the animal. These organisations are equipped to reunite pets with their owner and rehome strays where needed.
When bringing a lost pet or an injured stray into our hospital, you will be required to complete a form and sign a declaration acknowledging that Queensland Veterinary Specialists and Pet Emergency will no longer be able to provide you with status updates about the animal.
Queensland Veterinary Specialists and Pet Emergency are not a specialist wildlife care facility. We do however, work closely with the RSPCA and Australia Zoo, as well as other wildlife groups and carers. These organisations and individuals are trained specifically in the care and rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife.
We accept injured wildlife and provide a basic assessment, first aid and pain relief. Following this, the appropriate care facility will be contacted, and the animal transferred into their care. If an animal is uninjured, we strongly recommend against moving them from where they are found. If you are unsure whether or not an animal requires care, please contact the RSPCA Animal Emergency Hotline on 1300 264 625 for advice.
Due to health and safety reasons, we are unable to accept snakes or bats into our hospitals. Please contact the RSPCA on the number listed above if you have found an injured snake or bat.
When bringing wildlife into our hospital, you will be required to complete a form and sign a declaration acknowledging that Queensland Veterinary Specialists and Pet Emergency will no longer be able to provide you with status updates about the animal.
Veterinary care costs can vary significantly based upon many different factors such as the type of service or treatment that your pet requires, the complexity of their condition and their stability.
Investing in preventive care, such as regular check-ups, vaccinations, and dental cleanings, can help reduce the likelihood of emergency treatments in the future. However, conditions may still develop, and emergencies can occur unexpectedly, requiring immediate medical attention.
We strongly believe in informed consent and will always be transparent regarding expected costs of diagnostic and treatment options. In most cases, we are unable to provide an estimate for treatment without having seen and assessed your pet.
However, throughout your pet’s treatment with us we will seek your consent to proceed with any diagnostics and treatment so there are no surprises upon discharge. It’s essential for pet owners to ask questions and discuss financial concerns with their veterinarian to ensure that together, we can make informed decisions and provide you with appropriate treatment options for your pet.
Unfortunately, unlike in human medicine here in Australia, no government funding exists for veterinary care and as such it is the owner’s financial responsibility. We strongly recommend investing in pet insurance for your pet as this can help mitigate the out-of-pocket costs for eligible treatment.
For more information about payment options please click here.