NWVS Avis 

Avoid at all costs.
We were referred to this clinic with the impression that an MRI would be carried out. Instead, the young vet, C.O., decided to do an X-ray, which showed nothing, and only then mentioned an MRI.
We paid almost £200 for the consultation, during which he was showing us a brace for our dog’s leg on Amazon, despite the fact that this option had already been clearly ruled out both at the previous appointment and in the X-ray report.
We ended up having an MRI done at another clinic on the very same day as our first visit, only to discover that our dog had a tumour.
We lost a huge amount of money, experienced an enormous amount of unnecessary stress, and, most importantly, we lost precious time. This was an extremely distressing experience, and we deeply regret not going elsewhere from the start.

Awful experience , when my dog suddenly lost function in her back legs , I took her there after my vet referred us. They were not willing to listen , they did an MRI scan found a tumour they told me and then discharged her. They would not listen to the fact that she was well before she chased a fox and crashed into the trunk of a tree. Within 24 hours she lost function on her back legs. They were adamant that it was a tumour even though they couldn’t explain the leg swelling and fluid on the lungs all which can happen with trauma. I later read the MRI scan report and it stated a tumour was likely but it could also be due inflammation. They put her on steroids , she developed a urinary tract infection and then died of sepsis. All because the vets there cared more about a scan result then listening to the history. They say you wouldn’t send your dog to a terrible NHS hospital , what can you say about a place that treats people and their pets so badly

Absolutely amazing place. Everyone is so kind and caring. We are currently undergoing chemotherapy with my dog and I'm so pleased she is under their oncology team. They have been nothing but amazing with her and the love they show her is just so heartwarming and I know Mabel just absolutely loves them too and I don't think it's just because of all the cuddles and treats she gets. We are just over half way through treatment and she is doing so well and has her crazy sparkle back. I can not thank them enough. Thank you Jess, Bex, Caroline, Harry and everyone else there for making this horrible time for us as kind and compassionate as possible, we were at a complete loss, but you came up with a plan and put us at ease.

I ADVISE YOU TO AVOID NORTHWEST VETERINARY SPECIALISTS AS THEY LIE AND MISLEAD YOU WITH TREATMENT AND COSTS. My cat was admitted here as an emergency on 7th June 2026. He was diagnosed with neurological FIP & was discharged with his 84 day treatment (discharge paperwork says 12 weeks). I was told by the discharge nurse all of his medication was in the paper bag & his discharge paperwork tells me in bold to continue the medication for 12 weeks. I was also informed I had settled his bill in full - £6000.

Almost 52 days into treatment I realise my cat is running out of medication so I contact NWVS. Firstly they tell me there was a shortage of medication on discharge so my cat only has half of his medication - nobody told me this. Then they say if I want the missing medication, they can prescribe it to me for £680!!!

I WAS TOLD MY CAT HAS ALL OF HIS MEDICATION AT DISCHARGE AND I HAVE SETTLED HIS BILL. WHY ARE YOU REFUSING TO GIVE ME THE MISSING MEDICATION UNLESS I PAY FURTHER ADDITIONAL, HIDDEN COSTS?

My cat had a review appointment. Nobody informed me until one week post appointment that I had to pay £168 for this appointment. I was told by Charlie the vet that my cats care was included in the price I paid of £6000, so why are they now saying I owe them £168 for the review appointment (I’ve paid) & now if I want the missing medication I have to pay an extra £680? Why wasn’t this communicated in advance? I wasn’t expecting his medication to run out part way through the course of treatment.

NWVS ignored my emails & the practice didn’t return the phone calls when they said they would so I had no choice but to seek the medication elsewhere, from his general vet. Which cost £480, so significantly less, but still I shouldn’t have to pay it.

I’ve sent the invoice to the NWVS & they are refusing to pay for the missing treatment which is down to their mistake of not having the full medication amount in the first place or informing me any this about this. They just keep demanding money or refusing his treatment which he is owed.

We were referred to Northwest Veterinary Specialists (NWVS) in December 2025 for surgical treatment for our dog, Mac, who had sustained ligament damage.

At the initial consultation, we were provided with a professional overview of the proposed procedure and post-operative care. During this consultation, we explicitly and unequivocally informed the treating clinician that Mac had previously exhibited a hypersensitive and adverse reaction to paracetamol. We made it clear that under no circumstances was she to be prescribed or administered any paracetamol-based medication. This information was also documented within her veterinary history, which had been provided to NWVS in advance.

Mac underwent surgery and was discharged the following day. Within a short period post-discharge, her condition began to deteriorate. We made repeated attempts to contact NWVS to report our concerns. Responses were significantly delayed, including one instance where no response was received at all. Despite raising concerns regarding her symptoms and prescribed medication, we were advised to continue with the treatment plan.

Mac’s condition worsened to the point where she required emergency admission. Upon presentation, she was suffering from acute and catastrophic kidney and liver failure and had lost her sight. We were required to make immediate decisions regarding emergency treatment under extreme emotional distress and pressure.

Mac died within hours.

We were subsequently informed that the cause of death was consistent with either an adverse reaction to medication or anaesthetic. It is a matter of record that Mac had previously undergone anaesthesia on multiple occasions, including in the days immediately prior to surgery, without complication, and with normal blood test results. Conversely, she had a known and documented hypersensitivity to paracetamol.

Despite this, NWVS prescribed and administered a paracetamol-based medication (Pardale V), contrary to explicit verbal instructions, documented medical history, and the known clinical risks associated with such hypersensitivity.

A formal complaint was raised. We were directed to the VCMS mediation process, which, while acknowledging the seriousness of the concerns, was unable to make any determination as to liability.

Following Mac’s death, NWVS issued an invoice in excess of £2,000 for emergency treatment administered in her final hours. Given the circumstances, we disputed liability for these charges. NWVS subsequently withdrew the invoice, citing a “gesture of goodwill,” while continuing to deny any responsibility.

Notably, when asked whether, in light of the outcome and the information available at the time, they would have altered their clinical decision-making, NWVS confirmed they would not have done so.

This raises serious concerns regarding clinical judgment, adherence to patient history, and the duty of care owed to both patient and owner.

On the basis of the above, we cannot recommend NWVS.

The staff at nwvs were absolutely amazing from the phone call before we went to my cat frankie Barker discharge today. The reception staff have empath and compassion when you arrive. There is a separate room for waiting with cats with a chilled out atmosphere. Karen the vet I saw listened closely to frankie history and I felt heard. Her manner and care with frankie was amazing to watch she took her time and nothing felt rushed. She made a plan reassuring me all the time. Monday to Friday you get a update on your fur baby in a morning and a vet update later on
I felt informed and confident in their ability to get to the bottom of the problem. Frankie was in over the weekend and Leo took over his care and kept me updated. I collected frankie today at an arranged time and the vet nurse was lovely. I can't thank you all enough. I now have frankie curl up next to me and that feels amazing. Thank you so much for everything

I wasn't even able to get seen because of the prices! It's outrageous for them to charge £5000 minimum estimate for investigation on a dog they haven't even seen. My poor doggie is 10 years old so nobody wants to insure her due to old age. She started to be really unwell in the past few days and my vet referred her to this specialist clinic in Runcorn. They have amazing call back time, they rang me within 30 minutes after the referral was sent. HOWEVER!!! Upon speaking to the lady that called and asking how much I'm looking at she said the insane price of minimum £5000 for investigation only??? When I asked if there are any guarantees of the dog getting better as it's not a small amount of money to pay, she said there's none. I'm sorry to say they have no finance plan to offer for such atrocious pricing, you can pay in this way - 75% of the full price upon being seen and then the remaining 25% after she gets released.

They left my poor o year old pug uncared overnight and she died alone in a metal kennel

Just want to put a review on because what harry and the team did with our cat Diva which everyone knew her when she was being treated by you for her imha and diabetes and probably given you all headaches at times by how complex she was but Evan though we had to make the difficult decision to have her put to sleep I want to say thankyou for all for the love and care you gave to our little fur baby you all went far and beyond what any other vet would have done just want to say thankyou again and I wish we could have you as our regular vet

Avoid them at all costs unless you want them to mistreat your dog and murder your dog! They handled my dog extremely roughly when a simple procedure like taking out his blood could not be done by their so called experienced vet! They caused trauma to my dog which later was a cause to his death when they could not take out blood from him. I told them on several occasions that he reacted to certain drugs and they could not use certain anaesthetic. They would not listen and was extremely rude when I warned them about it. After a simple procedure of administering him anaesthetic and an MRI scan my dog never came back the same and had complications over complications which after many weeks of research and speaking to other specialists after his death can only be finger pointed to those cowboys! They have been negligent according to the civil law and criminally murdered my dog! They should legally be sued but the law doesn’t protect animals like humans! Stay away from those cowboys!

A service beyond excellence. The whole team go that one step further in your hour of need . Very impressive and highly recommended. Thank-you.
Regards Paul Cartwright

This review is long overdue as it was a quite emotional experience.

Our dog was referred to Northwest Veterinary Specialists for knee surgery. While the surgery itself was a success, the mental wellbeing of our dog has literally taken years to recover and there is still some trauma left.

Northwest Veterinary Specialists had promised daily phone calls, so we were a bit surprised when we only received a brief text message after the first night our dog spent there, before he was about to go into surgery. No phone call as promised. Later, after surgery we did receive a few phone calls, they were rushed, and had no time to answer questions. When we picked him up, he was covered in dried pee and stank, making us wonder how and if they had looked after him after the surgery was done.

The dog was also terribly bruised and the skin very irritated, so we took him to our own vet. Much to our surprise, the dog shivered, panicked, and try to jump into my arms (with a post-surgery leg he couldn’t stand on!). He used to love the vet and regarded going there a special treat where he walked around greeting everyone and doling out sloppy kisses to anyone in range. The vet agreed that the dog was deeply traumatised after staying at Northwest Veterinary Specialists.

We were supposed to take the dog back to Northwest Veterinary Specialists for a check-up and x-rays, but we had to change plans. I called Northwest Veterinary Specialists and explained about the anxiety and panic and asked to be present when they sedated him prior to the check-up. The person I spoke to was condescending and furthermore flat out refused me to be present. We consulted our own vet who agreed that the best option was not bringing him back to Northwest Veterinary Specialists but have our own vet do the x-rays and send them to Northwest Veterinary Specialists for evaluation. Our own vet agreed for us to be there while the dog was sedated and called us so we could be back when the dog woke up.

Our general impression of Northwest Veterinary Specialists is that it's very factory/conveyor belt like and money oriented and we are not under the impression that our dog was really looked after during the two days he spent there. Nor are we under the impression that they really cared at all – not about the dog nor about the humans.

The trauma our dog suffered is still present. He panics when we take him to the vet and where he used to love people, ALL people, he is now much more reserved, timid, and there is resident anxiety and trauma that it seems he will never get get past even though it has been more than 3 years.

We would never again take any of our dogs to Northwest Veterinary Specialists again.

Our Cat "Walter" was referred to Northwest Veterinary Specialist by our vet this week as he was losing weight and we feared the worst. We arrived at NWVS's hospital in Runcorn and was immediately impressed by the size and professionalism of the staff. Francesca was appointed to us, and I was left speechless with the breadth of her knowledge and clear explanations, which were not rushed. They certainly gave me the impression that this wasn't just a business but all the staff were not only the best in their field but they truly cared for the welfare of animals and the concerns of owners.

Well done!

Walter was kept in for 2 nights for various tests including an MRI and has been prescribed various medications. Now his health is in the lap of the gods but NWVS have done their bit.