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Before travelling abroad you should ensure you are fully acquainted with, and have taken appropriate medical precautions, such as immunisations, and have suitable medical cover.

Precautions and Information

As a first step you can consult a range of resources that are available to provide advice. If you have specific concerns or conditions, you should discuss with your doctor.

The free booklet: Health Advice for Travellers, produced by the Department of Health is available in the UK from doctors, main Post Offices or by calling, from UK only: 0800 555 777. This gives advice on health and immunisations precautions. It also describes the availability and access to healthcare service within the European Union, and includes form E111 that is necessary to get emergency treatment in the EU.

The Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad: MASTA, is run by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. As well as some online advice, they also sell first aid and sterile dressing kits. These sterile kits are useful to carry in case of emergencies, in those countries where medical resources are limited. They also produce a free health briefing for most countries, you can request it by calling on +44 (0)906 8224100. Travel first aid kits and other healthcare products are also available online from Auravita.

As an alternative: the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health: SCIEH, have a well produced site that gives online advice, precautions and immunisations details for a large number of countries.

Immunisations can be obtained (for a charge) from your doctor, company clinics or British Airways Travel Clinics (phone: +44(0)1276 685040 for a list of locations in the UK). 

The Department of Health maintains a list on the web of newly reported outbreaks of disease around the world.

Review of the above resources will give you a good idea of what you can do to manage the health risks. Some other tips:

1)      keep a card on you that gives details of your medical insurance contact numbers, and emergency contact. This should be in English, and preferably in the local language. The contact numbers should also include someone who can react to an emergency situation, who is based locally.

2)      keep a record of your immunisations, ensure they are kept up to date, and check coverage if you move or visit new places.

3)      follow the advice about clean water and food, do not assume that local consumption is a sign that you wont get ill.

Expat medical and health insurance cover

You should ensure you have adequate medical cover when you travel abroad. Most countries will charge you for (including in the EU) care, or will not provide it if cannot pay or have no insurance. Some countries might not provide the care you would like even if you could pay.

Either through your employer or directly, ensure you have the coverage that you will need. You may wish to consider having international cover from a UK company to begin with - you could always review suitability of local cover schemes once you are familiar with your new country. Check this thoroughly. Questions you should ask would include:

-What countries are covered?
-Who is covered?
-Under what circumstances?
-Does it include working time and holidays?
-What services are provided?
-What are exclusions?
-Which doctors, hospitals etc do they use?
-What about existing conditions?
-Will they get you home in an emergency, who, how, when?
-What are premiums, limits, and chargeable extras?

The following companies provide international healthcare schemes, which would be worth checking out:

BUPA International, Exeter Friendly Society, Expacare, Europ Assistance, InterGlobal Insurance Services, Goodhealth Worldwide Limited or PPP Healthcare.

Dental services are one of the most commonly required healthcare activities. For those people who are in a position to continue to visit the UK, then they could choose to use their previous dentist for routine check ups. If you are looking for a UK dentist you could consult the website of the British Dental Association, who have a listing of dentists, some with email addresses.

If you are interested in some background health information, you could have a look at the website run by the UK’s National Health Service. If you are stuck somewhere without a doctor, you can consult a British doctor at eMed.

When moving abroad you should return your NHS medical card to the local Health authorities. You should note that once you become non resident in the UK, then you are no longer entitled to free treatment from the NHS, until you become resident again.