Under current legislation, the NHS’s duty of care ends when a person has been absent, or intends to be away from the United Kingdom for a period of more than three months. A supply of medications for up to three months can be made to allow the patient to find a prescriber at their destination. Two three month prescriptions would not be acceptable under current legislation. Patients who return to the UK for the purpose of obtaining medication, or who use a local proxy to request prescriptions on their behalf should be refused supply. Patients should be directed to local services in their country of residence with the offer of supplying appropriate medical notes and a list of current medicines to their qualified medical practitioner.

When a GP provides a prescription, they are responsible for any adverse events that occur as a result of taking the medicine, regardless of where the patient happens to be. So a doctor would be ill-advised to prescribe for a patient who they know will out of the country. GPs are also required to deregister a patient who they know or suspect to be residing outside the UK for three months or more.

For further information on overseas travel please follow the link below:

Overseas Travel Guidance for patients