Pre-travel infomation

The Staff Travel Clinic provides staff that travel as part of their work at the University with an individual health assessment, travel vaccinations and general travel advice. In some circumstances, a post-travel health appointment might be required.

You should self-refer to the Staff Travel Clinic if you:

Are a member of staff travelling to an International country (i.e. outside UK & Europe) Note: If you are travelling to the same place on a regular basis, you do not need to attend for every trip unless there are any health concerns, your health condition changes or if any vaccine boosters are required.
Travel within the UK and Europe on a regular basis and have an underlying health condition which you feel may be affected by this situation or
Travel within the UK and Europe and the work activity exposes you to an additional risk (e.g. blood borne virus)

To arrange an appointment, complete the Referral for Overseas Travel Form‌ and send directly to OHenquiries@gcu.ac.uk. The form should ideally be submitted at least 6 – 8 weeks before the expected date of travel, to allow sufficient time to complete any required course of vaccinations.

On receipt of the referral form the OH team will be in touch with you directly to arrange an appointment time at the Clinic. Appointments are normally face-to-face, but can also be arranged on a telephone basis. Staff based at GCU London will always be offered a telephone consultation and advised of the arrangements in place for local vaccinations.

The health assessment normally lasts 45 minutes and involves assessing your health status along with the risks of the area being visited and the activities undertaken. Based on this, the OH Advisor will determine your fitness to travel, provide the recommended immunisations and discuss and advise you on any identified risks.

Please click on the below short video for further information on the travel clinic.

Staff are advised to contact Occupational Health on return from overseas travel if any health issues arise during or within 3 months of return.

When travelling overseas on University business, it is important that you avoid risks and return home safely. As such, we have 6 short online course modules, provided by Drum Cussac, to provide you with lots of good tips that you can use to keep you safe.

Each module can be viewed at your own pace as often as you need to and the scenario based content can be completed separately on your desktop computer, laptop or smart device to fit around busy work schedules.

It is recommended that all travellers complete the following modules:

Basic Travel Awareness (30 minutes) and
Female Traveller Security (9 minutes) – for female travellers only

You can also select one or all of the following modules, depending on the risks identified through your overseas travel assessment:

Information Security Abroad (10 minutes)
Natural disasters (7 minutes)
Avoiding Bribery and Corruption (6 minutes)
Kidnap for Ransom (7 minutes)

Staff can self-register onto the course, by clicking on the following link Drum Cussac Self-Register then enter your email address (username) and set a password of your choice. Prior to self-registration, please refer to Drum Cussac’s privacy policy for details of the use of your personal information.

Once you have self-registered, you can login to the Travel Prepare course with the username/password created at the self-registration stage.

Once you complete a module, click on the ‘back’ button on your browser – this will take you back to the main dashboard to select the next course module.

For students, staff can access the course and show the course to groups of students in a classroom session via a projector screen. If you have individual students travelling and wish them to access the modules, please email healthandsafetyenquiries@gcu.ac.uk and we’ll try and accommodate this if possible.

A summary of the content of each module will be displayed when you access the main Travel Prepare webpage however please click on the following for a quick summary of content Travel Prepare Course - Quick Summary of Content.

Please click on the following short video for some travel tips from the GCU Recruitment & Marketing Manager.

Travel Clinic

Ensure you have attended the Travel Clinic (if required) and all your vaccinations are up to date

Itinerary

Ensure that an up-to-date detailed travel itinerary is left with your school or department as per local protocols and leave a copy with a friend or family member

Emergency Details Form

Ensure that an Emergency Details Form‌ has been emailed to travel@gcu.ac.uk no later than one week prior to travel
If any emergency contact details have changed, ensure the up-to-date information is emailed to travel@gcu.ac.uk

Agree check-in times

Agree on check-in times with your named contact (eg. line manager), for example, when landing at each new destination, daily and on return to the UK to let them know you are safe and secure. Also agree mode of communication, for example, text and have another form of communication should mobile technology fail, for example, use email etc

Travel alerts

Set up travel alerts from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), RiskMonitor Traveller and Travel Health Pro

Track any changes from the travel alerts up until the time of travel. If the situation changes (eg. level of risk increases), the travel approver must be informed and the updated assessment submitted as part of this process.

Mobile phone

If taking a mobile phone, check with the network provider for compatible operation before departure, ensure it is fully charged and that ‘roaming’ is enabled
Add useful numbers such as the local police, British Embassy or Consulate into your mobile phone

Emergencies

Ensure you have a copy of all the emergency numbers you need for your trip, for example, insurance, travel company, British Embassy etc.
Ensure you take copies of your passport and any necessary visas with you on your trip and leave a copy with a friend or family member in case of emergencies
Ensure you are aware of the procedures to undertake in the event of an emergency
Consider and arrange backup plans in case of unexpected changes to your travel plan

Female travellers

Female travellers can register with Maiden Voyage

Training

Ensure any required training has been completed

Passport

Ensure you have a valid passport (minimum of six months at return date), any necessary visas and have a photocopy of both

European Health Insurance Card

If you are travelling within the EU, ensure you get a Global or European Health Insurance Card (GHIC/EHIC). This will entitle you to free or low-cost treatment for medical problems.

In-country preparations

Make sure your UK driving licence is current and valid. Some countries require you to hold an International Driving Permit (IDP) with your UK licence
Pre-organise airport collection - where possible, for higher risk countries or where recommended by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), organise a named contact to meet you at the airport
Have a copy of the hotel name and address on your person in case of any language barrier
Make yourself aware of local customs and dress codes, particularly if visiting religious sites, markets and rural communities (check the FCDO website and the International Office can be contacted for further information)
Make yourself aware of local scams that operate (check the FCDO website and the International Office can be contacted for further information)