Travel Vaccinations and Advice

Travel Vaccinations

If you are thinking of travelling outside the UK, start preparing for your trip, especially long trips, at least 8 weeks before you go. You don't always need vaccinations to travel abroad. If you do, the type of travel jabs you need depends on which country you're visiting and what you're doing.

Please be aware that some of the vaccinations require more than one dose and some do not become effective until a number of weeks after the injection.

Complete Travel Questionnaire

If you are travelling abroad and think you may need travel vaccines, please fill in this online questionnaire below:

ONLINE TRAVEL FORM

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - We ask that this form is completed at least 6 weeks prior to travel as some vaccinations take up to 4 weeks to work - A second appointment may be required with a Practice Nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

If you have had any travel immunisations in the past, it would be helpful if you could bring any information about these with you to the appointment.

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.

Nurse Review

You will be given an appointment with the travel nurse and this appointment may last up to 20 minutes. If a course of vaccines are required, you may need more than one appointment.

Contact the surgery after 48 hours

Patient's are advised to contact the surgery after 48 hours of initial form submission to find out if any vaccinations are required - at which point they can book an appointment to have these done.

Coronavirus Travel Advice

Covid-19 Vaccination Status for international travel

From 17 May 2021, people in England who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can demonstrate their vaccination status for international travel. A full course is currently two doses of any approved vaccine. Vaccine status will be available from:

The NHS App which you can download from app stores

It may take more than a week for your identity to be checked and verified so you can use this service.

If you cannot access this online service, and you have had 2 vaccines, you can request a paper letter from the NHS by calling 119. Only call 119 if you are due to travel abroad in the near future and have had your second dose more than 5 working days ago. It may take 7 working days for the letter to arrive.

We are not able to provide you with a letter that shows your COVID-19 vaccination status.

Make sure there is time to get proof of your vaccination status before you leave.

When you’re planning to travel check:

The latest information on demonstrating your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad here

Keep up to date with the latest Coronavirus travel advice here

Information on how to stay safe and healthy abroad

Fitfortravel is a free public access website providing up to date health information for the UK public on avoiding illness and staying healthy when travelling abroad.

MORE INFORMATION ON FIT FOR TRAVEL

or Find out more on the FCDO Website

Travelling in Europe

Your rights & EU rules

If you are travelling to Europe the EU has published useful information for travellers on the European website.

As an EU national, you enjoy the right of free movement. This means you’re entitled to travel, work and live in another EU country. If you’re a citizen of a Schengen country – which is most EU countries – you’re also free to travel to other Schengen countries without the need for border checks.

As an EU national, you can also benefit from EU-wide passenger rights for travel into, out of or within the EU by air, rail, bus/coach or ship. You can travel with pets and other animals in the EU provided you comply with the rules (pet passports). There are EU limits on taking alcohol, tobacco or cash with you to another EU country. Each EU country can set its own limits or restrictions, so check before you go.

Fear of Flying

Patients sometimes ask the doctors to prescribe Diazepam, or similar drugs, because they are frightened of flying or to help them sleep during a flight.

Prescribing these drugs is not recommended for the following reasons:

Taking Diazepam reduces awareness and reactions so you risk not being able to react swiftly to save your life if you had to evacuate the plane quickly. You could also put other passengers at risk by requiring their help or getting in their way.
These drugs can make you sleep in an unnaturally deep sleep. This means that you would not move around as much as during natural sleep, so you have a bigger risk of getting a blood clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis-DVT) in the leg or lungs. Blood clots are very dangerous and can kill. This risk is bigger if your flight is longer than 4 hours.
These drugs have short term bad effects on memory, co-ordination, concentration, and reaction times, and are addictive if used for a long time, with withdrawal leading to fits, hallucinations, agitation, and confusion. Diazepam in the UK is also a controlled drug. The prescribing guidelines state that ‘use for short term mild anxiety is inappropriate’. They should only be used for a ‘crisis in generalised anxiety’ and if you are having such a crisis you are not likely to be fit to fly. Fear of flying in isolation is not a generalised anxiety disorder.
Some people become agitated and aggressive after taking Diazepam and similar drugs and behave in a way that they would not normally, which can pose a risk on the plane. This affects everyone’s safety and could get you into trouble with the law.
There is evidence that the use of these drugs stops the normal adjustment response that would gradually lessen anxiety over time and may increase anxiety in the long term.
Diazepam and similar controlled drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They could be confiscated, or you may find yourself in trouble with the Police.
Diazepam stays in your system for some time. If your job or sport requires you to have random drug testing, you may fail this having taken Diazepam.
It is important to tell your travel insurer about your medical conditions and medications you take. If not, there is a risk of your insurer not paying if you need to make a claim.