Altrincham Travel Clinic blog: how we check our advice

Every post here comes out of our Timperley clinic: drafted around the questions patients actually put to us, and checked against published UK guidance rather than against what other clinics say. This page sets out how a post gets written, which sources sit behind it, how that information stays current, and what we won't do.

Who writes the posts on this blog?

The travel clinic team at 250 Stockport Road in Timperley. Topics come from the consultation room rather than from a keyword list, and the line under each post title tells you whether our superintendent pharmacist has been through that particular piece.

That line reads one of two ways: either it names our superintendent pharmacist with his GPhC registration number, or it says the post is awaiting his sign-off. This page is one of the second kind. We'd rather show the difference than smudge it. More about the team is on our about page.

Which sources do we use, and why those ones?

Four, in rough order of use:

• NHS. The plain-English baseline for patients, and the origin of advice like seeing a travel health professional at least four to six weeks before you travel, as the NHS travel vaccination advice page sets out.
• TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC). Country-by-country recommendations and outbreak reporting, produced for UK health professionals with the UK Health Security Agency. It's what sits behind our country pages.
• The UKHSA Green Book. The professional reference for UK schedules, precautions and contraindications. It isn't written for patients, so we read it rather than quote it.
• emc patient information leaflets. For anything about a specific product, its approved leaflet is the only sensible source.

We don't work from other clinics' marketing pages, travel forums or non-UK agencies. Guidance differs country to country, and you want the version a UK pharmacist can act on.

How often does the travel health information change?

More often than most people expect. Outbreak pictures move week to week, and a country can change a certificate rule with little notice.

Our destination pages keep up: vaccine recommendations and outbreak notices on each country page are updated regularly from TravelHealthPro, and the yellow fever country data is re-validated against their published requirements weekly. Blog posts are different: we date them on publication and record the date of any revision, and anything with a short shelf life belongs on a country page rather than here. A rule of thumb for every travel health site, ours included, is that the closer information sits to a legal entry requirement or a live outbreak, the shorter its shelf life.

How should I use the destination guides and the vaccine finder?

Three tools, three jobs:

• Destination guides are the place to start. Each country page groups vaccines as TravelHealthPro does, for most travellers, some or a few, then adds malaria advice, current outbreaks and practical notes.
• The Which Vaccine finder on our travel vaccines page does the same job faster. Type a destination, get those grouped recommendations back, which helps when you're weighing up two or three trips.
• The yellow fever certificate checker answers a legal question, not a medical one. Some countries require an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis to let you in; others ask only if you're arriving from a country where yellow fever is present. That's border policy. Whether you personally need protecting is a separate question about transmission risk where you're going, and confusing the two is the commonest mix-up we see.

None of these replaces a consultation; they just help you arrive with sensible questions.

What will we never do on this blog?

• Sell you something you don't need. An appointment that ends with "you're already covered, have a good trip" is a successful appointment.
• Treat an article as your prescription. Where a post explains how a medicine is generally used, that is background reading, not an instruction. Your product, dose and timing depend on age, weight, medical history, pregnancy and your other medicines, and they are settled at your consultation.
• Advertise a prescription-only medicine to you. UK rules don't allow those to be advertised to the public, so our promotional copy says "antimalarial tablets" or "prescription altitude-sickness medication". Where an article does explain the named options, it is there to inform, and which one suits you is still a conversation in the consulting room.
• Turn a news item into a scare. Outbreak reporting deserves proportion, not headlines.
• Invent locations. We're one clinic in Timperley, two Metrolink stops from Altrincham, and every area we mention is one we genuinely serve.

How can I suggest a topic or flag something that looks wrong?

Please do both. If there's a destination, a vaccine or a travel worry you'd like covered, send it through our contact page or ring 0161 948 5066 and say it's for the blog. Requests from patients across Altrincham, Sale, Hale and Trafford shape much of what we write.

Corrections matter more still. If something reads as out of date or plainly wrong, tell us and we'll check it against the source. We'd far rather fix a page than defend it.

Frequently asked questions

Is anything on this blog a substitute for a consultation?

No. These posts give the general picture so you understand the decisions ahead. The specifics, which vaccines suit your itinerary, history and medicines, need a risk assessment with a pharmacist.

Why won't a post tell me which tablet or dose is right for me?

Because the answer depends on you, and getting it wrong matters. A post can explain how the options are generally used, but your product, dose and timing turn on personal details we can only check face to face, and some are prescription decisions confirmed at your appointment.

How do I know a post is still current?

Country pages and outbreak notices refresh far more often than the blog, so for anything time-sensitive use the destination guides rather than an article. If you aren't sure a post is still current, ring us and we'll check it against the source.

I'm not local to Altrincham. Is this still useful?

The travel health advice applies wherever you live in the UK. Clinic details such as walk-ins, opening hours and same-day yellow fever certificates apply to our Timperley premises only.

If reading has thrown up a question that needs a person, that's what a consultation is for. Book a travel appointment or walk in, Monday to Saturday 9am to 9pm and Sunday 9am to 6pm, and we'll work through your trip properly.

Sources: NHS travel vaccination advice · TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) yellow fever · TravelHealthPro country information. TravelHealthPro material contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.