If you are travelling abroad for short and long periods of time, there may be implications for your prescriptions and our responsibility to you as a practice.
- Prescriptions for medicines in case of illness while abroad.
Our GPs may be able to provide you with a private prescription if it is clinically appropriate and if they can prescribe safely without medical assessment while you are abroad. These prescriptions are not free.
Patients should be aware that some drugs commonly prescribed in the UK may be illegal in certain countries and you should check with gov.uk and that country’s embassy, before you travel.
- If you are travelling out of the country for less than 3 months.
If you inform us you will be out of the country for less than 3 months, we can provide sufficient medicines for an existing condition (for example asthma, diabetes) for the period while you are away, where it is safe to do so.
Medicines that require frequent monitoring may not be prescribed where there are safety concerns. Drugs normally available over the counter such as paracetamol can be purchased at your local supermarket or pharmacy.
Make sure you always take all your medications in the boxes or containers they were prescribed in.
- If you are travelling out of the country for more than 3 months.
Patients who inform us they will be leaving the country for more than 3 months will be prescribed sufficient medication to enable them to make alternative arrangements at their destination (up to 3 months supply where safe to do so).
By law, the NHS no longer has responsibility for the medical care of patients when they leave the UK. GPs are not required by their terms of service to provide prescriptions for the treatment of a condition that is not present and may arise while the patient is abroad.
We regret that patients travelling abroad for a period of more than 3 months will be need to be removed from our patient list. We will be pleased to re-register patients on their return to the UK and can reassure patients that their electronic notes are kept on file for reference on your return.
Patients and relatives should not seek medication for themselves while they are abroad as this constitutes NHS fraud.