Travel Clinic in Ponteland, with your whole trip planned in one go

A travel clinic for Ponteland, with the airport on the doorstep

Ponteland sits just west of us in Northumberland, four miles away, with Newcastle International Airport effectively on its edge. It is an affluent commuter town, older and wealthier than the regional average, with no rail station of its own, so everybody drives. Living next to an international airport does something to a town's travel habits, and it shows in the appointments we take from NE20.

The trips are rarely simple. Long-haul touring itineraries covering several countries in one run. Cruises. Second homes and long visits to family abroad. These are people who have travelled for decades, often have a stack of previous vaccinations behind them, and want the schedule sorting properly rather than a rushed decision the week before they fly.

Cruises need a schedule, not a single appointment

Cruise itineraries are the ones that need the most planning, and they are the reason we ask Ponteland travellers to book earlier than most. One sailing can call at several countries with quite different recommendations, and some of what is recommended needs more than one dose spaced weeks apart. So we plan the whole thing backwards from your sailing date rather than treating each port as a separate question.

Bring the full itinerary, including the port calls and any shore excursions you have already booked. What you do ashore changes the assessment more than the country name does: a day in a port city and a two-day inland trip into a rural area are not the same risk.

Well-travelled means better records, and better questions

Longer-standing travellers often have more previous vaccinations than they remember, and some of those still count. Bring whatever record you have. It saves repeating things unnecessarily and it makes the schedule shorter. We will also go through your regular medicines, because those can affect what is suitable, particularly where antimalarial tablets are being considered.

What a travel consultation actually involves

A travel appointment here is a proper risk assessment, not a form and a needle. A pharmacist goes through your itinerary against current NaTHNaC and WHO country advice, looks at your health history, and works out what applies to your trip specifically rather than to the country in general.

• Where you are going, in what order, and how long you are staying in each place.
• When you travel, because season changes the risk in a lot of destinations.
• What you will actually be doing there, since city hotels, rural work and outdoor travel are three different assessments.
• What you have already had, and when, so nothing is repeated unnecessarily.
• Your health history and any regular medicines, which can affect what is suitable.

We hold Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Tetanus, Rabies, Meningitis ACWY, Japanese Encephalitis, Cholera and Polio in stock, so in most cases what you need can be given on the day. Where a destination calls for antimalarial tablets, we will explain whether they apply to you and what taking them involves. Antimalarial tablets are prescription-only medicines and are subject to assessment.

How far ahead to come in

Six to eight weeks before departure is the comfortable window, because a few courses need more than one dose spaced weeks apart. Later than that is still worth doing. We will give what can safely be given on the day and tell you plainly what is still outstanding, rather than turning you away. No vaccine offers complete protection, so we also cover the practical things that reduce risk while you are away, such as insect bite avoidance, food and water care, and what to do if you are bitten or scratched by an animal.

What to bring

Bring your itinerary, including internal flights and any stopovers, a record of vaccinations you have had before if you have one, and a list of any medicines you take. You do not need a GP referral. For current rates, see our booking page.

Why Ponteland travellers choose us

The main reason is sequencing. If your trip needs more than one visit, the distance is the whole question, and four miles on the A696 makes a second appointment a non-event rather than a chore. We tell you at the first visit exactly what is still due and when, so you can put it in the diary there and then.

The second reason is that we are on the same side of the city as the airport you are flying from. There is no reason to drive into Newcastle and back out again for a travel appointment when the clinic is between Ponteland and the A1. And because we hold the common travel vaccines in stock, most people get what they need on the day rather than being asked to come back once something has been ordered in.

Couples and family groups travelling together are planned together, which for a cruise or a multi-generational trip is the only sensible way to do it. Everyone leaves on the same schedule, with the same dates written down.

Getting to Unit 5, Middleton North from Ponteland

It is 4.2 miles and about thirteen minutes. Head east out of Ponteland on the A696 towards Newcastle, then turn onto Brunton Lane, which runs east into Newcastle Great Park. We are at Unit 5, Middleton North, Wagonway Drive, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 9BH, with free patient parking directly outside the door.

There is no rail station in Ponteland, so this is a drive, but it is a simple one and it does not take you into Newcastle at any point. If you would rather check something before booking, call 0191 447 3839 and tell us your sailing or departure date.