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Travel Clinic & Holiday Vaccinations

Arranging your Travel appointment

Prior to travelling please allow as much time as possible to arrange your appointment for the Travel Clinic (preferably at least 6 weeks or more), which will be with the Practice Nurse. The Nurse will require to know which countries, and areas within countries, that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

It is important to make this initial telephone appointment as early as possible, as a second appointment will be required with the Practice Nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines may 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.

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. If you require any such vaccines we will direct you to Exeter Travel Clinic for this service.

If you are aware that you need extended vaccines you are able to make contact with Exeter Travel Clinic initially and they will provide you with the travel advice and vaccine schedule. You will be directed back to the practice for any NHS provided vaccines.

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

  • Hepatitis A
  • Typhoid
  • Diphtheria
  • Tetanus
  • Polio

Advice on Medicines and Vaccines for Patients Travelling Outside the UK

Under NHS legislation, the NHS ceases to have responsibility for people when they leave the UK. GP’s are not required to provide prescriptions for the treatment of a condition that may arise while the patient is abroad. 

For example;

  • Sun cream/lotions
  • Pain relief
  • Antidiarrhoeals
  • Travel sickness medicines

For Prescription Only Medicines (POM), patients may be offered and charged for a private prescription e.g. Ciprofloxacin for traveller’s diarrhoea. The GMS contract allows items for travel to be prescribed by GPs for patients on their NHS list.

Drugs for malaria prophylaxis are not prescribed on the NHS

  • Patients should be advised to purchase where possible over the counter medications
  • For prescription only medicines (eg. Doxycycline, Lariam®, Malarone® and Maloprim®), GPs may charge for and issue a private prescription. It is also possible to obtain antimalarials via pharmacy services, e.g. an online pharmacy consultation.

All other travel vaccinations are not available on the NHS and must therefore must be offered to patients via a private prescription;

  • Meningitis ACWY
  • Tick Borne Encephalitis
  • Japanese Encephalitis
  •  Rabies
  •  Yellow Fever Vaccine

Healthy Travel Leaflet

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

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—charges will apply at these clinics.

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 to Europe should be advised to apply for a Global Health Insurance Card.

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.

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