Riversbrook Veterinary Group - Cliff Lane – Vets in Ipswich
Clinic Overview
Riversbrook Veterinary Group – Cliff Lane is a small-animal practice in Ipswich with roots going back to the early 19th century, and it is part of CVS. The practice offers a wide range of routine and surgical veterinary care, with referral pathways for orthopaedics, soft-tissue surgery and cardiology. Out-of-hours emergencies are handled through MiNightVet.
Riversbrook Veterinary Group – Cliff Lane is a small-animal practice in Ipswich with roots going back to the early 19th century, and it is part of CVS. The practice offers a wide range of routine and surgical veterinary care, with referral pathways for orthopaedics, soft-tissue surgery and cardiology. Out-of-hours emergencies are handled through MiNightVet. Recent feedback is mixed, with praise for compassionate care in some cases but recurring complaints about appointment access, communication and costs.
Services
- •Routine and preventive care: consultations and nurse consultations, vaccinations, parasite control, microchipping, six-month health checks, and routine procedures such as anal sac expression.
- •Common treatments and procedures: neutering, dentistry, surgery, diagnostics including blood pressure checks, and grooming or nail clipping.
- •Additional support services: pet travel documentation and home visits.
- •Referral options: referral pathways are listed for orthopaedic surgery, soft-tissue surgery, and cardiology.
- •Emergency arrangements: during opening hours, clients are advised to call the practice; out of hours, emergency care is directed to MiNightVet.
- •Practice accreditations: RCVS General Practice, Cat Friendly Clinic Silver, and Rabbit Friendly Clinic Silver.
- •Recent care examples mentioned by owners: recent reviews include positive comments about cat care and sensitive end-of-life support.
Pricing
Published prices suggest the clinic sits above average, based on a partial sample of comparable services. Recent reviews also include some complaints about consultation costs and frustration at being asked to pay again for further assessment or treatment.
People
- •Liz (vet): praised by one owner for compassionate euthanasia care and the follow-up condolence card sent by the practice.
- •Michelle (practice manager): named in a complaint about a promised call-back that the reviewer says did not happen.
Reviews
Google reviews: 4.5/5 from 255 reviews. Recent written feedback is mixed, with both warm praise and several clear service complaints.
- •Compassionate care: one owner thanked Liz and the wider team for kind end-of-life support and described the condolence card afterwards as especially thoughtful.
- •Appointment booking frustrations: multiple reviewers object to the need to phone at 8am on the day for appointments, saying it is inconvenient and hard to manage.
- •Concerns about diagnosis and follow-up: some negative reviews describe dissatisfaction with diagnosis, test communication, and delays or gaps in follow-through.
- •Cost concerns: several unhappy reviewers felt charges were high for the experience they received, particularly where another consultation was needed.

