Please Note: We are not obliged to offer a travel immunisation service.

However, we do so for the benefit of our patients BUT this means that we may not always be able to help you if you are travelling last minute. In this circumstance, you would need to obtain your vaccinations privately and pay a fee.

You can find a  private clinic in the Solihull and Birmingham area by visiting masta.com, or telephoning 03301004128.

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General Travel Advice

firfortravel

fitfortravel is a public access website provided by the NHS (Scotland). It gives
travel health information for people travelling abroad from the UK – you can access this website below.

Important information to read before going travelling regarding taking prescription medication with you and what we can and cant prescribe can be found here.

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Telephone Travel Appointments

Going travelling – home or abroad? Then we can help.

Our nurses offer telephone travel appointments, so if you think you might need immunisations, please book one of these appointments at least 6 weeks in advance. Some vaccinations cannot be given at the same time and some take a while before they give you full protection. However, even if you are traveling at short notice, please still book a telephone advice appointment as we will need time to obtain your medical records for your consultation.

If it is decided that you do need further immunisation, then the nurse will book an appointment for you to come into the surgery. Before you attend, you will need to print off and complete a travel questionnaire by clicking on this link. If you are taking children with you, you should check that they have had their full course of childhood immunisations.

If you need anti malaria medication, your practice nurse will be able to advise you.

We have a travel safety leaflet for you to look at for further information.

For Hajj and cruise, these leaflets may be of information.

If you need to take medication whilst you are away, make sure you have ordered this from us before you go. Please note that we can only give a maximum three month supply.

Due to changes in the way that the NHS cover our nurses, we are no longer able to provide you with private travel vaccinations which include

• hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• meningitis vaccines includes MENACWY usually required for pilgrimages, nor can we issue a certificate
• rabies
• tick-borne encephalitis
• tuberculosis (TB)
• yellow fever

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Health Insurance

This is often the very last item on a traveller’s checklist, yet it is perhaps the most important of all. Cover should be arranged at the time you book your holiday

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Global Health Insurance Card

A UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) gives you the right to access state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in the European Union (EU). Applying for the card is free. However, other, unofficial, websites may charge you if you apply through them.

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Pre-travel Risk Assessment Form

This form is to be completed by the traveller prior to vaccination appointment, one will be needed for each family member
the following vaccines should not be prescribed on the NHS exclusively for the purposes of travel (in England):

• Hepatitis B
• Japanese Encephalitis
• Meningitis ACWY
• Yellow Fever
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Rabies
• BCG

These vaccines should continue to be recommended for travel but the individual traveller will need to bear the cost of the vaccination

Electronic Prescription Service 

The extent of the benefits of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) will depend on your individual circumstances.

• The Electronic Prescription Service is an evolution of a less-efficient paper-based prescription service.
• The Electronic Prescription Service is reliable, secure and confidential.
• The Electronic Prescription Service reduces the need for you to spend time going to your GP Practice just to collect a paper prescription. This is particularly relevant if you have regular prescriptions.

At first, if you want your GP to send your prescription electronically, you must choose, or ‘nominate’, a place to receive your electronic prescriptions. This could be a pharmacy, dispensing appliance contractor or your GP practice.

•  Nomination is more suitable for some patients than others.
•  Nomination is a flexible process. It is easy to change your nomination or choose not use it on a particular occasion.
• If you are currently using a prescription collection service you may not notice much change once you have nominated.
• Nomination gives you a greater freedom of choice by making it simpler for you to use a pharmacy or dispensing appliance contractor convenient to you.

Paper will not be removed completely and will be required in the following situations:

• if you choose not to use the Electronic Prescription Service;
• if you choose not to nominate;
• if you use nomination (and therefore don’t receive paper) but are required to sign for payment/exemption purposes.
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Electronic Repeat Dispensing

This is an excellent service for patients who order the same medication in the same doses every month. We can send a ‘batch’ of prescriptions to your pharmacy – usually 6 months worth dated every 28 days. When you attend the pharmacy, they will ask you which items you require – so you don’t have to have all items dispensed every month. This will be repeated every month up until the last batch prescription at which point your pharmacy will advise you to contact us. There is a patient leaflet here which explains the system in more details. Below is a useful video. The benefit to you is that you don’t have to keep sending us an order every month – it has to be worth a try? Let us know if you want us to convert your prescription for you.

We have a doctors’ and nurses’ phone clinic where we can give advice on minor ailments over the phone. Please ring the surgery for more information.

Our practice is recognised for post-graduate medical training. Each year a fully qualified doctor joins us as a Registrar in General Practice. Occasionally we may ask for your permission to videotape your consultation – doctors will only see this and this will be used for training purposes only.

Our practice is also active in undertaking various research projects, which include new approaches to treating various diseases. You may be requested to participate in these research projects but participation is purely voluntary.

All medicals for insurance, HGV licences, driving, elderly drivers etc. can be arranged via the receptionists. These are not covered by the NHS and a fee will be payable.

When you join the Practice as a new patient, you will be offered a new patient check. If you are on repeat medication, this will be with one of our doctors, if not, then please book to see our health care assistant. You will be weighed, have your urine checked and be asked a series of health questions, this will also give you the opportunity to raise any concerns you might have.

Confidential advice on contraception, emergency contraception and sexual health is offered during all clinics. This is a nurse led service.

You may also find the information on the Umbrella website useful – you can order self test kits, speak to them for advice and arrange an appointment.

All adults should be immunised against tetanus every ten years. If you are travelling abroad and think you may need immunisation, please make an appointment with the practice nurse at least eight weeks in advance. See our travel health page for more information.

We provide a comprehensive service for minor surgery (mainly skin lesions) and joint injections. Dr Crichton is mainly responsible for minor surgery, so we advise seeing him in a routine appointment to discuss any treatment.