Travel Clinic & Holiday Vaccinations

All the Practice Nurses at The Simpson Centre & Penn Surgery are able to give personal travel advice and administer vaccinations. However we advise that you obtain a free personalised health brief from MASTA. (MASTA offer travel health consultations, vaccinations (including yellow fever at MASTA nurse lead clinics and selected community pharmacies), antimalarials and travel related retail items. MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad), was established over 30 years ago and we now operate one of the largest network of private travel clinics in the UK).

Prior to travelling please allow as much time as possible to arrange your appointment for the Travel Clinic (preferably at least 6 to 8 weeks. This will allow sufficient time to ensure we have the vaccine in stock and for the vaccine to become effective). Please note appointments booked less than 6 weeks will be at the Nurse’s discretion. 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 appointment as early as possible, 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.

Unfortunately it may not always be possible to accommodate your requests at the surgery if left too late.

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

Chargeable

There is a £10 charge for duplicate certification or exemption certificates.

Hepatitis B£50 per dose Course of 3 doses
Paediatric Hepatitis B£50 per doseCourse of 3 doses

Malaria Tablets

Paludrine & Chloroquine & now Malarone (for adults) are available without a private prescription from most Pharmacy’s over the counter. The Nurse or Pharmacist will advise you on the type of anti-malarial medication is required for your particular destination. All other malaria tablets are available on a private prescription for which there is an £15 charge. You can then shop around for the best price for the actual tablets as the costs do differ.

Travel Form

You can also complete the online Travel form and send this to us (this must be submitted at least 6 to 8 weeks prior to Travel).

Healthy Travel Leaflet

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

Nurses Info Sheet

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 (you can obtain these numbers in the Yellow Pages see link below i.e. type in “travel clinic” then “your area”, to display a list of clinics) 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 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.

Useful Links