If you require medication for regular and continuing treatment it is not always necessary to see a clinician each time.

• Repeat Prescription requests should be made via the NHS app
• For any non-regular medications please use the admin query contact form under ‘something else’
• We require 2 working days to process prescription requests
• Within 2 workings days of a request we will either prescribe or notify you if we need further information
• We do not send texts to confirm that a prescription has been completed. After 2 working days please contact your chemist to check it is there

Please contact your nominated pharmacy to discuss when your medication will be ready to be collected. If you have changed your chosen pharmacy then please inform us at the time of the request.

Medication for Fear of Flying: Why We No Longer Prescribe It

People sometimes ask their doctor or nurse to prescribe diazepam or similar medications—such as lorazepam, temazepam, or clonazepam—to help manage anxiety about flying or to support sleep during flights.

Prescribing these drugs is not recommended any more for these reasons:

• While plane emergencies are rare, taking Diazepam can significantly reduce your awareness and reaction times, potentially preventing you from reacting swiftly in a life-threatening situation. This not only endangers your life but also the lives of others, as you may obstruct their escape or require their assistance.
• The use of these drugs can make you sleep in an unnaturally deep sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep, so you have a more significant risk of getting a blood clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis – DVT) in the leg or lungs. Blood clots are very dangerous and can kill. This risk is more significant if your flight is longer than 4 hours.
• These drugs have short-term detrimental effects on memory, coordination, concentration, and reaction times. Prolonged use can lead to addiction, with withdrawal symptoms including fits, hallucinations, agitation, and confusion. They have also become widely abused since their introduction. Diazepam in the UK is a controlled drug, and its use for short-term ‘mild’ anxiety is considered inappropriate. It is only recommended for a ‘crisis in generalised anxiety’. However, if you are experiencing such a crisis, you are not likely fit to fly. Fear of flying in isolation is not a generalised anxiety disorder.
• Some people get agitated and aggressive after taking diazepam and similar drugs and behave in a way that they would not usually, which can pose a risk on the plane. This affects everyone’s safety and could get you into legal trouble. A similar effect can be seen with alcohol, which has led to people being removed from flights.
• There is evidence that the use of these drugs stops the normal adjustment response that would gradually lessen anxiety over time and may increase anxiety in the long term, mainly if used repeatedly.
• Diazepam and similar controlled drugs are illegal in several countries. Possession could lead to confiscation or legal trouble.
• Diazepam stays in your system for some time. If your job or sport needs you to have random drug testing, you may fail this, having taken diazepam.
• It is essential to tell your travel insurer about your medical conditions and the medications you take. If not, there is a risk of your insurer not paying if you try to make a claim.

So, we will no longer be providing Diazepam or similar drugs for flight anxiety. Instead, we recommend trying one of these aviation industry-recommended flight anxiety courses, which are designed to help you manage your fear of flying in a safe and effective way.

Easy Jet

www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com

British Airways

https://flyingwithconfidence.com/

Virgin Atlantic

https://www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk/