The University of Manchester will make every effort to provide you with support and guidance that you might require regarding your health and wellbeing whilst you are abroad. However, we are not able to provide detailed advice about the specific support available at each placement provider. It will be your responsibility to research your destination with regards to your health and wellbeing needs and to ensure that you are well prepared prior to your departure.
To assist you in completing relevant health checks, please work through the Health Needs Self-Assessment flowchart, which you will find in your My Placement application requirements, and take the necessary actions identified.
Health Conditions
When assessing your health needs:
Please note: if you require emergency treatment for a pre-existing condition whilst abroad you will ultimately need to provide evidence to the insurance company that you were fit to travel immediately prior to travelling to your host country.
Medication and Medical Checks
If you take any medication for a medical condition you should check with a medical professional that its use is approved/legal in your host country. You should check this well in advance in case you need to be transitioned to an alternative medicine. Similarly, if you require any ongoing treatment/therapy you should check with a medical professional whether/how this can be maintained whilst you are abroad. The AIG Travel Guard travel assistance website and app provide a drug equivalency resource. You can sign up for Travel Guard for free with your UoM email address and the University Policy Number, which you can find on the following page: Insurance
You should arrange check-up appointments with your GP and make sure you get sufficient supplies of any prescription medicines you may need for your time abroad before you go. This includes any contraceptive that you are using (e.g. the pill, implant, injection etc). Any medication should be carried in your hand luggage ideally, or split between two bags in case of delay or theft. It is also important that your medication is labelled correctly and is kept in the original packaging. If you are carrying a large quantity of medication we recommend you ask your doctor for a note confirming it is for your own personal use.
It is also well worth investing in the basics: paracetamol, plasters, antiseptic cream, etc. (which are in general much cheaper in the UK than abroad). You are also strongly advised to have a dental check-up before travel, and to see your optician and ensure that you have adequate supplies of products e.g. for contact lenses.
It is your responsibility to ensure you have arranged all relevant vaccinations that may be required or recommended for your destination country along with any relevant prophylactic medicines e.g. anti-malarials. You can check vaccination recommendations and requirements here: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations.
In some cases, your host University/Organisation may require you to complete a medical exam eg chest X-rays or similar, or ask you to provide medical/vaccination history. This is more common in non-European destinations. Your host university may delay your course registration at a destination until you have provided this information. The Occupational Health Service (OHS) can provide travel advice and vaccinations much cheaper than via a GP or Travel Clinic.
If you need to make an appointment with Occupational Health please visit -http://www.occhealth.manchester.ac.uk/contact-us/
It is important that you pepare for this early so your appointment can be made well in advance of departure. If you have arranged for the OHS to deliver your vaccinations they require 8 weeks’ notice. You will have to confirm via your ‘Travel Approval Request’ that you have arranged the necessary vaccinations for your destination.
Whether or not you choose to be vaccinated is a personal decision; however, it may affect whether or not you can participate in your planned placement and the countries that you can travel to. You also need to consider the risks of travelling without vaccination – the virus continues to mutate and new variants may present a higher risk to younger age groups. Long-Covid is also affecting significant numbers of people.
From December 2022, students travelling to a country with more limited/poor healthcare infrastructure are no longer required to evidence Covid-19 vaccination in order for us to provide travel approval. However, some countries may require evidence of Covid vaccination for entry.
For countries which have limited or poor healthcare systems, full vaccination for Covid-19 is recommended – in the UK, full vaccination equates to two initial doses plus one booster. When considering risk for Covid-19 in such environments, you should consider any relevant comorbidities which might put you at higher risk via the NHS guidance and if you are uncertain then you should discuss your circumstances with Occupational Health.
The pressure of planning a placement in addition to the challenges of a new environment, can potentially have an impact on your mental/emotional health. If you experience any difficulties it is advisable to inform your placement co-ordinator at Manchester and also your contact at the partner university/your manager, as this will reduce the pressure on you to have to cope on your own. A useful resource if you are struggling whilst abroad is an online self-help tool provided through the University’s Counselling Service:www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/get-help
Here are some other useful resources that you may wish to take a look at:
We would strongly recommend that you declare any disability, so that we can assess appropriate additional support for the duration of your time abroad. Please note - it can take some time to put support in place, so we would recommend that you contact the University's Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) as soon as possible once your placement is confirmed. If you are already registered with DASS, please discuss your placement with them so that your support plan can be updated if necessary.
The Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) can help to determine appropriate support abroad. In order to share your support plan with your host organisation, you’ll need to give DASS consent to pass this to your Placement Coordinator.
We know that not everyone who uses DASS thinks of themselves as disabled. We use the term ‘disability’ as it’s used in Equality Law. This legislation states that the definition of disability is any condition which has a significant, adverse and longterm effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Can you give me some examples?
DASS sees students with a range of difficulties including, but not limited to:
What if I’m not registered with DASS?
If you have a disability, but are not already registered with the Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS), please complete the DASS online registration form.
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