Prescriptions

We are occasionally asked by patients to prescribe sedating medication for flying.

We regret that we are not able to facilitate these requests on the grounds of patient safety and our need to prioritise the delivery of NHS care on the basis of patients’ clinical needs.

Sedating medication, e.g. benzodiazepines such as diazepam, can make someone either paradoxically aggressive, or less able to follow instructions in an emergency, thus putting crew and other passengers at risk.

Sleeping tablets similarly have no indication for flying, and again could make a passenger difficult to rouse or transfer if there was a genuine in-flight emergency. Often passengers mix these medications with alcohol, with significantly increased consequences. We would not wish you to to be barred from a flight or face prosecution, or find yourself incapacitated due to the unpredictable effects of a sedative medication. The drug driving legislation which came into effect in recent years would also potentially prohibit onward driving from an airport.

Flight anxiety should be treated by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – a form of counselling, which has long lasting benefits and is safe. Airline carriers offer excellent courses for free, so do speak with your flight provider to arrange to go on a course well in advance of when you know you will be flying.

There are plenty of good quality fear of flying courses available in the UK which are easily accessible by those who wish to conquer their fear of flying, eg:

https://fearlessflyer.easyjet.com/

http://www.flyingwithoutfear.com/

http://flyingwithconfidence.com/

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

We acknowledge there may be occasion when you have previously received a prescription for this purpose and we regret that we will be unable to agree to such requests going forward. This is a joint decision, unanimously made by all senior clinical staff within the practice.

We have been supported in the drafting of this policy by Cambridgeshire Local Medical Committee.

As a practice, we are committed to supporting patients with neurodevelopmental diagnoses, both children and adults.

We are mindful that pressures on NHS services have increased in recent years, and that often patients seek private diagnosis and treatment as a result. This policy sets out the practice’s policy on acknowledging diagnosis and taking over treatment where requested.

This document is based on national and local guidance.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect many aspects of a person’s life. However, diagnosis is complex and requires a specialist, usually a consultant psychiatrist to do this.

GPs are not able to make a diagnosis of ADHD and a referral is needed to an ADHD specialist. If an ADHD diagnosis is subsequently made by the specialist, they may choose to offer medications to help manage the symptoms. These medications are potentially dangerous and therefore require careful monitoring.

The NHS ADHD service in Cambridgeshire is provided by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. Once a diagnosis is made, the specialist is responsible for initiating medications, making any adjustments until the dose has been stabilised.  The specialist will also remain responsible for arranging an annual review, which includes a review of your ADHD symptoms, your medication and a physical assessment. Once an established dose of the appropriate medication has been established, we may take on responsibility for on-going prescribing and monitoring under a shared care agreement with the NHS service specialist, however overall clinical responsibility for diagnosis, ongoing treatment and review remains with the specialist.