Travel Clinic & Holiday Vaccinations

The Travel Clinic and what it offers

Important Information!

Please arrange to attend an appointment with our Nurse as soon as possible and at least 7 weeks before departure.  Please ask for a travel risk assessment form at reception. We will require details of the town, country, type of accommodation and proposed dates of travel to assess the risk factors.  The most efficient way of returning this form is through Ask My GP where by you send the completed form to the Practice as an electronic attachment and the Nursing staff will answer online.

For private prescription vaccines or if there are 6 weeks or less before your departure then we cannot support your requests at Polden Medical Practice and you need to use the services of the local MASTA travel clinics listed here.

• Day Lewis Pharmacy, Love Lane, Burnham on Sea, TA8 1EU: Tel: 0330 100 4106
• Day Lewis Pharmacy, 74 Hendford, Yeovil, BA20 1UY Tel: 0330 100 4106

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

You can request a travel risk assessment form from the reception desks at both Edington or Woolavington branches or via AskmyGP

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 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.

Useful Links

Note: Polden Medical Practice is not responsible for the content of any of these websites, we also do not endorse them.