Travel Clinic & Holiday Vaccinations

If your travel departure date is in 8 weeks or less, you’ll need to make an appointment with a designated Travel Clinic.

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 6 weeks before you travel – as often second appointment will be required for the travel clinic to actually receive the vaccinations. Often vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccines. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Vaccines

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge.This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Please note only the undernoted vaccines are available on NHS Prescriptions:-

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Polio

Travel Form

To help us offer the appropriate advice, please fill out the online form before coming to see the nurse.

Healthy Travel Leaflet

You may find the following leaflet helpful when making your travel arrangements.

Advice on Malaria will be given.

Please download and print our useful guide below about Mosquito advice.

Hepatitis immunisation

Immunisation against infectious Hepatitis (Hepatitis A) is available free of charge on the NHS in connection with travel abroad. However Hepatitis B is not routinely available free of charge and therefore you may be charged for this vaccination when requested in connection with travel abroad.

Private Travel Clinics

If you are unable to wait for our next available travel advice appointment, as advised by the reception staff, then you can attend any Private Travel Clinic (you can obtain these numbers in the Yellow Pages see link below i.e. type in “travel clinic” then “your area”, to display a list of clinics) charges will apply at these clinics.

• Yellow Pages

Excess quantities of regular repeat prescriptions

Under NHS legislation, the NHS ceases to have responsibility for people when they leave the United Kingdom. However, to ensure good patient care the following guidance is offered. People travelling within Europe should be advised to carry a European Health Insurance Card, known as an EHIC.

Medication required for a pre-existing condition should be provided in sufficient quantity to cover the journey and to allow the patient to obtain medical attention abroad. If the patient is returning within the timescale of their usual prescription, then this should be issued (the maximum duration of a prescription is recommended by the Care Trust to be two months, although it is recognised that prescription quantities are sometimes greater than this). Patients are entitled to carry prescribed medicines, even if originally classed as controlled drugs, for example, morphine sulphate tablets.

For longer visits abroad, the patient should be advised to register with a local doctor for continuing medication (this may need to be paid for by the patient).

General practitioners are not responsible for prescriptions of items required for conditions which may arise while travelling, for example travel sickness or diarrhoea. Patients should be advised to purchase these items from community pharmacies prior to travel.

Useful Links