Vaccinations

If you’re planning to travel outside the UK, the surgery can help with travel advice and information about vaccines for travel.

You must request travel advice at least 8 weeks before your departure date.

This is because some vaccines:

• need to be given in advance to let your body develop immunity
• involve a number of doses over weeks or months

The NHS is only able to provide specific vaccinations to its NHS patients for travel. These include:

• Cholera
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Polio

Who can have the vaccine?

We’ll usually send you a text message if you need to have the vaccination.

You can get the vaccine for free if you are:

• aged 65 or over
• aged 18 to 64 and have an underlying health condition
• pregnant
• a carer
• working in the health and social care sector
• living in a care home
• living with someone who is more likely to get infections.

There is also a free children’s flu vaccine which is offered to children who are:

• aged 2 to 3 years old
• at risk because they have long-term health conditions.

If you think you, or your child, need the vaccine but are not in one of these groups, please contact us. We may still be able to give you the vaccine.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are safe and effective. They give you the best protection against COVID-19.

Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine?

For the latest eligibility advice for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, check the NHS website’s guide to who can get the COVID-19 vaccination.

Book online

If you or your child are aged 5 or over, you can book an appointment online.

Walk-in clinics

You can get your COVID-19 vaccination at a walk-in clinic. You do not need to book an appointment.

This vaccine protects against serious infections like:

• meningitis
• blood poisoning

It’s a single injection and protects against 4 strains of the meningococcal bacteria – A, C, W and Y.

When to get it

Children aged 13 to 15 are usually offered the vaccine in school, with the 3-in-1 teenage booster.

If you did not have the vaccine, you can still get it up to the age of 25.

Find out more on the NHS website

Read the MenACWY vaccine overview on the NHS website.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of coughs and colds. It usually gets better by itself, but it can be serious for some babies and older adults.

A vaccine to help protect against RSV is available on the NHS from 1 September 2024.

Who can have the vaccine?

You’ll be able to get the vaccine if:

• you’re aged 75 to 79
• you’re 28 weeks pregnant or more – this will help protect your baby for the first few months after they’re born.

If you’re aged 75 to 79, your GP surgery will contact you about getting vaccinated. Please wait to be contacted.

You can speak to your maternity service or GP surgery about getting your RSV vaccination if you’re 28 weeks pregnant or more.

Find out more on the NHS website

To read more about respiratory syncytial virus, see the NHS website.

You can reduce your risk of getting shingles by getting vaccinated.

Who should have the shingles vaccine

The shingles vaccine is recommended for some older adults and people with a severely weakened immune system.

• People who turn 65 on or after 1 September 2023
• People aged 70 to 79
• People aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system

You can get shingles more than once, so it’s important to get vaccinated even if you’ve had shingles before.

Getting the vaccination

Once you’re eligible, a GP or practice nurse will offer you the vaccine when you come to the surgery for general reasons.

You can also request an appointment at the surgery to talk to us about it.

Starting at 8 weeks old, your child needs to have different vaccines to protect them as they grow up.

When to get them

We’ll contact you when your child is eligible for the vaccinations. This could be a letter, text, phone call or email.

If you think your child has missed any vaccinations, request an appointment.

Find out more on the NHS website

Read the NHS website guide on when to have vaccinations.

Getting vaccinated while you’re pregnant is effective in protecting your baby from getting whooping cough in the first few weeks of their life.

Whooping cough is a serious infection that causes coughing and choking, making it hard to breathe.

The vaccine also protects against:

• diphtheria
• tetanus
• polio

When to get it

The best time to have the vaccination is from 16 weeks to 32 weeks of your pregnancy.

If you do not have it in this time, you can still have it up until you go into labour.

Getting the vaccination

You may be offered the vaccine at a routine appointment, from around 16 weeks of your pregnancy.

You can have it at the practice and some antenatal clinics also offer it.

If you’re not offered it around 16 weeks, talk to your midwife or GP and make an appointment.