What is a travel health service?
If you are planning to travel outside the UK your travel health needs will depend on your individual situation and the following considerations:
- Your general health
- Where you are travelling to
- Where you will be staying
- How long you will be staying
- What you will be doing throughout your trip
Lots of useful travel health information is available online from the Fit for Travel website provided by NHS Scotland.
It is important that you read through the information available online first before contacting NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Travel Health Service.
Once you have read through the information on the Fit for Travel website you may require an assessment, further advice and vaccinations before you travel.
Ideally you should look to organise any vaccinations required for travelling, two to three months before you travel. Please note we need a minimum of four weeks for you to complete a Travel Health risk assessment, for us to contact your GP Practice for previous immunisation records, medical and medicine histories and appoint you to a local clinic.
Additionally, a two-week period is required between appointment and travel time as this gives time for any vaccines that you might need to become fully effective. If your travel date is within four weeks, advice is available on the Fit for Travel website and we would advise you contact a local participating community pharmacy if vaccination is required, see table included further down on this page for assessment and vaccination, where you will be asked to pay a fee.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Travel Health Service
In Ayrshire and Arran, the following services are available if you require travel advice, vaccinations or antimalarial/trip specific medications:
- Advice by email/telephone
- By outpatient appointment (providing vaccines available free through the NHS)
- By referral to specialist travel health service
- Through participating community pharmacies providing private service, including antimalarial medication and travel vaccines not provided free by NHS
The first step is for a full travel risk assessment to be carried out. Please contact NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Travel Health Service by emailing aa.travelhealthenquiries@aapct.scot.nhs.uk for further information. You will then receive a travel risk assessment form to complete and return. A member of the Travel Health Service will then contact you to advise what your next steps are.
What travel vaccines are provided for free by the NHS?
The following travel vaccines continue to be available free on the NHS to citizens living in Scotland for the purpose of travel:
- Cholera
- Hepatitis A
- Diptheria, Polio, tetanus (administered as a combined vaccine)
- Typhoid
The above vaccines are free as they protect against diseases that are considered to present the greatest risk to public health if they were to be brought into the country.
If you require vaccines that are not available free through the NHS or antimalarial tablets you will be signposted to a participating community pharmacy or specialist travel clinic. The following community pharmacies currently provide a private travel health service:
| Pharmacy name | Address | Town | Postcode | Telephone | |
| Townhead Pharmacy | Station Plaza | Kilwinning | KA13 6NT | 01294 559898 | |
| Lloyds | 28/30 New Street | Stevenston | KA20 3HF | 01294 462498 | |
| Boots | 168/170 High Street | Ayr | KA7 1PZ | 01292 269323 | |
| Ogg’s Pharmacy | 44 Newmarket Street | Ayr | KA7 1LR | 01292 262366 | |
| Dalrymple Pharmacy | 6 Main St | Dalrymple | KA6 6DF | 01292 560931 | |
| Toll Pharmacy | 153 Ayr Road | Prestwick | KA9 1TP | 01292 478224 | |
| Cumnock Pharmacy | 9B Townhead Street | Cumnock | KA18 1LE | 01290 421 632 |
** Please note, all Boots stores in Ayrshire offer a private malaria service – visit their website for details: https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy-advice/vaccinations/travel-vaccination-health-advice-service
** The Lloyds pharmacy group runs a private travel service, visit their website for details: https://www.masta-travel-health.com/
Rabies
Rabies is a viral infection that affects the brain and nerves. It’s spread by infected animals and if left untreated can be fatal.
The best way to prevent rabies is to:
- get the rabies vaccine if you are at risk
- seek immediate medical advice if you think you have been exposed.
If you’re in a country where there’s a risk of rabies, you could be exposed if an animal:
- bites or scratches you
- licks an open wound or broken skin
- licks your eyes, mouth or nose
Urgent advice – seek medical attention if there’s any chance you have been exposed to an animal infected with rabies.
If you’re in Ayrshire & Arran you should phone our travel team on 01292 513737 Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. If it’s out of hours or during the weekend, please phone 01563 521133 and ask for the on call consultant for Public Health.
If you’re abroad you should seek medical care immediately and not wait to return to the UK before seeking care. If you’ve started a rabies vaccine course abroad, please phone the number above when you return to complete your course.