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.
It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 8 weeks before you travel – as a second appointment will be required with the 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.
It is sensible to make an appointment as soon as you know you will be travelling as we have a limited number of travel appointments available and at popular travel times there may be a delay before we can offer you an appointment.
We are a registered Yellow Fever Centre.
If there are no travel clinic appointments available before you are due to travel, then there are many private travel clinics in Oxford and Reading who can provide both the necessary vaccinations and malaria tablets.
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
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.
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.
Travelling in Europe
If you are travelling to Europe the EU has published useful information for travellers on the European website.