Tel: 02074875244
Out of Hours: 111
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Travel Clinic
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Travel Vaccinations
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If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.
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It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – ideally at least 6 weeks before you travel – as further appointments might be required with the practice nurse to complete your course of vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment should be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.
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To link to our dedicated travel website click here.
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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.
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There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below
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Travelling in Europe
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If you are travelling to Europe a very useful booklet has been published with advice and guidance to help you get the most out of your holiday. To visit please click:- http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/eu_glance/86/en.pdf (this is a large document and may take a minute or two to view)
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Sleeping tablets for the Plane Journey
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Unfortunately we do not recommend the use of sleeping tablets (such as diazepam, also known as anxiolytics) to take to help 'relax' during a flight and do not offer this service. There are many reasons for this including:
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1)The use of such medications causes longer reaction times & slowed thinking, which during a flight will put the passenger at significant risk of not being able to act in a manor which could save their life in the event of a safety critical scenario
2) The use of these tablets has the potential to increase the risk of DVT (a blood clot in the leg) - because they increase the likelihood of sitting without moving for more than 4 hrs (the amount of time which has been shown to increase the risk of developing DVT whether in an aeroplane or elsewhere);
3) The sedating effects of these tablets have the possibility of causing breathing to slow down which can result in a drop in 0xygen levels. Normal oxygen levels for a healthy person at 8000ft are around 90%, so with the 2 effects added together, this may become significant, and even more so if the consumption of alcohol is added.
4) Some people may become aggressive due to the tablets and hence this has the potential to put themselves and other occupants of the aircraft at risk.
5) These medications are not recommended to treat phobias and NICE guidelines do not support the use of these medications for flying.
6) In many countries it is illegal to import these drugs and so the passenger will need to use a different strategy for the homeward bound journey and / or any subsequent legs of the journey.
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We appreciate your understanding of this matter.
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