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For travel advice and vaccinations please search on google ‘travel clinics’ or visit your nearest high street chemist to discuss your requirements. We regret we are currently not providing travel vaccinations due to unprecedented demands on our services. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
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.
There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below
Europe & Russia | North America |
Central America | South America |
Caribbean | Africa |
Middle East | Central Asia |
East Asia | Australasia and Pacific |
It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 6 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.
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.
Use of Benzodiazepines (and related medications) for flying
Benzodiazepines (e.g. Diazepam/ Lorazepam/Temazepam/Alprazolam/ Clonazepam) are drugs which have been in use since the 1960s for treatment of a wide range of conditions including alcohol withdrawal, agitation and restlessness, anxiety, epilepsy and seizures, neurological disorders. muscle spasms, psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbance
Initial use of benzodiazepines, including the well-known Diazepam also known as ‘Valium’, was enthusiastic and they were hailed as a wonder drug. However, it became increasingly clear that, as well as having short term deleterious effects on memory, co-ordination, concentration and reaction times, they were also addictive if used for a long time, with withdrawal leading to fits, hallucinations, agitation and confusion, and further had long-term effects on cognition and balance. Unfortunately benzodiazepines have also become a widely used drug of abuse since they first came on the market. Because of these reasons the use of benzodiazepines has been a lot more controlled around the world since the 1980-90s, especially in the UK. Diazepam in the UK is a Class C/Schedule IV controlled drug. The following short guide outlines the issues surrounding its use with regards to flying and why the surgery no longer prescribes such medications for this purpose.
People often come to us requesting the doctor or nurse to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying or assist with sleep during flights. Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. There are a number of very good reasons why prescribing this drug is not recommended.
Given the above we will no longer be providing Diazepam or similar drugs for flight anxiety and instead suggest the below aviation industry recommended flight anxiety courses.
For further information:
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/travel-assiistance/flying-with-confidence
https://www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk/
[i] British National Formulary; Diazepam – https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/diazepam.html
[ii] British National Formulary; Hypnotics and anxiolytics – https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summary/hypnotics-and-anxiolytics.html
[iii] Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management. NICE Clinical guideline [CG113] Published date: January 2011 Last updated: July 2019 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg113
[iv] Acute and delayed effects of Alprazolam on flight phobics during exposure. Behav Res Ther. 1997 Sep;35(9):831-41
[v] Travel Health Pro; Medicines and Travel; Carrying medication abroad and advice regarding falsified medication – https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/43/medicines-abroad