Travel and Working Abroad
Common Questions

• The Occupational Health Travel Clinics offer a comprehensive service to those travelling abroad for work.

• To help reduce the risk of illness or injury while you are travelling for work.
• Our understanding of the broadcasting industry enables us to advise you more fully, taking into account the unique risks of your work, whether you are an individual traveller, a production crew, or a news gatherer working in hostile environments.
• We can provide general advice to help with planning a programme or trip abroad. This is usually followed by an appointment with each individual travelling to identify any individual health risks.

• You need to be aware of the relevant health, safety & security risks in order to plan & remove or reduce those risks as much as possible.
• Please contact BBC HR Direct who will ensure your call is directed to the most appropriate Occupational Health area to answer your query.
• When contacting Occupational Health, please let us know details of your planned trip so that we can give you the appropriate advice. For example it is useful to know the areas you are visiting (e.g. rural, jungle, desert), the type of accommodation, and the activities you plan to undertake.

• In general your first appointment will last for around one hour. Subsequent appointments are 30 minutes or less.
• This may seem like a long time but there is a lot to cover & your travel risks need to be dealt with thoroughly

• This will depend on what vaccinations you have had in the past, the nature of your trip & your own individual health factors.
• Please contact BBC HR Direct who will ensure your call is directed to the most appropriate Occupational Health area to answer your query.

Do I need to take anti-malarial tablets?

• This will depend on where you are going. Your occupational health nurse will advise you on whether they are required & to help you decide which ones are the most appropriate to take.

• If you need to book an appointment at a travel clinic please contact BBC HR Direct.
• We recommend that, you contact your local Travel Clinic to make an appointment at least 4-6 weeks before your trip. This allows enough time to prepare properly, to ensure that vaccination courses can be completed in time, and to ensure that you have enough time to develop an adequate immune response to any vaccines given.

• Ideally we prefer to have at least 4-6 weeks to plan effectively. However if this is not possible (e.g. because you have to travel at short notice), it is still worth booking an appointment.
• If your job involves travelling at short notice, you can avoid last minute problems by ensuring that you are up to date with "core" immunisations, as a strategy of continuous protection offers advantages over the conventional "trip-by-trip" approach.

What should I do if I am ill when working abroad?

• Contact AXA PPP. You should also let your OH travel clinic know when you get back or as soon as you can.

What should I do if I am ill after my return from travelling abroad for work?

• If you are ill after returning to the UK, please contact the Travel Clinic.
• If the clinic is closed & you are running a temperature of 37.5 degrees C or higher and you have been in a malarial area during the preceding 3 months, then go to your nearest Accident & Emergency Department. Please remember to contact The Travel Clinic to let them know you have been ill when the clinic is next open.
• If the clinic is closed & you are still unwell you should contact your own doctor or your nearest A&E department for advice.

• You will need to bring along any records (e.g. from your GP or a Travel Clinic) of vaccinations you have had previously.
• Ensure that you have details of your planned trip so that the appropriate advice can be given. For example the areas you are visiting (e.g. rural, jungle, desert), the type of accommodation you will be staying in and the activities you plan to undertake.

• If you are going to be travelling & working in a hostile environment then you also need to contact the High Risk Team.
• You will need to check that you have adequate insurance in place.
• You may need to contact & visit safety stores who offer a wide range of equipment such as mosquito nets, first aid kits etc that you may need for your trip.

• The clinics should be used by BBC and non BBC staff travelling on BBC business. Please contact your local BBC Travel Clinic to make appointments or to seek travel health advice.
• This includes freelancers, contributors & contractors & independent productions working for the BBC, but not children under 16, contestants, members of the public or Siemens Business Services.
• If you are unsure if you can use the travel clinics then please ask when you contact the Travel Clinic.