1. Purpose
A safe travel health consultation is built on a proper risk assessment. The right advice depends on where the traveller is going, what they will do there, and their own health. This policy sets out how the Service assesses each traveller, gives advice based on current national guidance, and records it, so that the vaccines, antimalarials and health advice given are right for that person and that trip.
The Service must verify this policy against current national travel health guidance (TravelHealthPro / NaTHNaC and the Green Book) before adoption.
2. Sources to verify before adoption
- TravelHealthPro (National Travel Health Network and Centre, NaTHNaC), country information and clinical guidance: https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/
- Immunisation against infectious disease (the Green Book): https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book
- Royal College of Nursing, competencies for travel health nursing: https://www.rcn.org.uk/
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2936/regulation/12
3. Scope
This policy applies to:
- every traveller the Service advises
- the consultation, the advice given, and its record
- the nurses, pharmacists and doctors who carry out travel consultations
4. The risk assessment
For each traveller the Service assesses, using current country information:
- the destinations and the route, including stopovers
- the dates, the length of the trip and the time before departure
- the type of travel and activities (for example rural or remote travel, trekking at altitude, working in healthcare, contact with animals, freshwater exposure, adventure sports)
- the accommodation and likely food and water standards
- the traveller's own health: age, pregnancy or planned pregnancy, breastfeeding, long-term conditions, immune status and any immunosuppression, allergies, current medicines, and previous reactions to vaccines
- the traveller's vaccination history
The assessment is based on the country and clinical information current at the time of the consultation, because risk and recommendations change.
5. The advice given
From the risk assessment the Service advises on:
- recommended and required vaccinations, including which are a course needing time before travel
- malaria risk and, where needed, antimalarial options, bite avoidance, and the limits of any chemoprophylaxis
- food and water safety, travellers' diarrhoea, and what to carry
- insect-bite avoidance, sun protection, altitude, and accident and road-safety risks
- blood-borne and sexually transmitted infection risks where relevant to the trip
- what to do if they become unwell abroad, and the importance of travel insurance and, where relevant, a record of their vaccinations to carry
Advice is tailored to the person, not a generic destination handout.
6. Timing and incomplete courses
- the Service explains where a vaccine course needs to start well before departure, and what protection is realistic when there is little time
- where a traveller presents late, the Service gives the best available protection and is honest about the gaps
- a traveller who needs more than one visit is given a clear plan for the remaining doses
7. When the Service is not the right place
The Service is clear about the limits of what it offers. Where a traveller needs care beyond travel health (for example management of a complex condition before travel, or specialist advice for a particular risk), the Service says so and signposts the traveller to the right service rather than advising outside its competence.
8. Recording
The Service records, for each consultation: the risk assessment, the advice given, the vaccines and medicines provided (with batch numbers where given), the traveller's consent, and any advice declined. The record shows that a tailored assessment took place.
9. Training and competency
Clinicians carrying out travel consultations are trained and assessed as competent for travel health, keep up to date as guidance changes, and are refreshed on a stated cadence. The Service records who is competent and the next refresher date.
10. Audit cadence
The Service checks, on a stated cadence, that:
- consultations are based on a documented, person-specific risk assessment using current country information
- the advice, vaccines and medicines given match the assessment
- timing, incomplete courses and declined advice are recorded
- clinicians' travel health competence is current
The Registered Manager and the clinical lead review the results and record the improvement actions that follow.