OST patient's going abroad pose a number of issues: is it safe for them to have so much opioid with them at any one time? will they be travelling with children? will the drugs be kept in a safe place? should we give methadone tablets instead of mixture to avoid airline liquids restrictions? all of which have to be balanced against the natural desire for a patient to lead as normal a life as possible and not to allow treatment to detract from their quality of life.
One set of questions which is independent of all these concerns, is how will the country to be visited view the possession of so much controlled drug? the letter which we are supposed to send with patients travelling abroad ensures that they will not contravene regulations whilst within UK borders, but what happens when they arrive in another country? I am indebted to Jon Nicholas, a colleague with whom I work in Somerset, for pointing out a really useful web resource for patients going abroad. This website offers forms in differing languages according to the country being visited, and in the wording that they would like to see. It also has a description of the legal attitude to prescribed CDs for each country. I don’t know how accurate this latter information is, and the advice should remain the case that a letter from us only maintains legality up to UK departure, it remains the patient’s responsibility/risk for the countries they choose to visit – but this resource is at the very least a helpful indication. I suggest you copy the links into your favourites bar.
So, for regulations relevant to various countries, use this link:
And for forms in various languages, use this link:
