Stab victims 'scared of going to hospital' are paying VETS to stitch up wounds

Stabbing victims are paying vets to stitch up their wounds for fear that attending hospital will lead to police involvement.

The BBC reports that some of the injured are concerned they’ll be seen as a grass, while others worry there may be repercussions if anything bad happens to their attacker.

Visiting a vet is their next best option, according to frontline workers dealing with gang crime in Nottingham – and the ‘going rate’ is around £200.

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While vets aren’t legally able to prescribe medicine to humans, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons doesn’t have any specific advice with regards to stitching wounds.

Nathan Kelly, a youth mentor for the Nottingham School of Boxing, told the BBC that he once lied to medics after being slashed in the face, saying, “the first thing they want to do is get the police involved”.

He added that he knew of people who had opted to be treated outside hospital for stab wounds to avoid there being a record of what had happened to them.