Fear of Flying

31st March 2025Medication, Patient information

Prescribers at Ruston Street Clinic have reviewed benzodiazepine prescribing and have agreed a new policy not to prescribe benzodiazepines or sedatives (such as diazepam) to patients for fear of flying.

Patients come to us, asking us to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying. There are several very good reasons why prescribing this drug is not recommended.

  • Diazepam is a sedative that makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight, it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.
  • Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep; however, when you do sleep, it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than 4 hours.
  • Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and increased aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact your safety and that of other passengers and get you into trouble with the local authorities.
  • According to doctors’ prescribing guidelines (BNF), Benzodiazepines are contraindicated (not allowed) in treating phobia. Your doctor would take a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are only licensed short term for a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should get proper care and support for your mental health and not go on a flight.
  • Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in some countries. They may be confiscated, or you may be in trouble with the local authorities.
  • Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing, you may fail this, having taken diazepam.

Although we appreciate that the fear of flying is very real and very frightening, we will no longer be providing benzodiazepines or sedatives for flight anxiety and instead suggest the below aviation industry-recommended flight anxiety courses, which are easily accessible for those who wish to conquer their fear of flying:

  1. Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel 0203 8131644
  2. British Airways www.flyingwithconfidence.com  Tel 01252 793250
  3. Virgin www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk  Tel 01423 714900
  4. https://thefearofflying.com/programs/fly-and-be-calm/

Make this year the year you quit smoking for good

25th February 2025Patient information
Make this year the year you quit smoking for good

When you quit smoking, good things start to happen. You’ll begin to see almost immediate improvements to your health.

It’s never too late to quit and it’s easier to stop smoking with the right support. Why not start by downloading the free NHS Quit Smoking app to track your progress and get daily motivation?

You don’t need to imagine a life without smoking, you can live it!

Better Health has a range of content and tools to help smokers make a successful quit attempt, all of which can be accessed at www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking.

Here’s a summary of what’s available:

NHS Quit Smoking app

Our quit smoking app is available to download for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Based on a 28-day quit programme, the app allows you to:

  • track your progress
  • see how much money you’re saving
  • get daily support

Daily email support

Smokers can sign up for daily email support to get tips and advice direct to their inbox throughout their 28-day quit smoking journey, and occasional emails after that to help keep them on track.

Personal Quit Plan

Don’t know where to start? Answer a few simple questions to get a Personalised Quit Plan, designed to support you every step of the way. With tailored advice and practical tips, this plan gives you the tools to quit smoking and stay smoke free for good.

Help others quit

Whether you’re helping a friend quit smoking or supporting a young person to stop vaping, you can make all the difference. Find out what they need during this big change in their life.

getUBetter MSK App

30th May 2024Fitness, Medical, MSK, Patient information, Self care
getUBetter MSK App

Need help with your muscle or joint problems?

NHS North East London – TNW MSK app is now available to all patients. It’s a FREE, easy-to-use tool helping you to self-manage your muscle, bone, and joint (MSK) injuries and conditions.

  • No need to wait for an appointment
  • Instant access to a personalised plan
  • Safe and effective


What is getUBetter?

getUBetter is an app helping you self-manage at home, work, and on the move. It can be accessed on a Smartphone or via the Web.
It covers a range of MSK injuries and condition, like back pain and ankle pain, and is designed to help you recover, understand when and where to seek help, and prevent further injuries?

Who is getUBetter for?

  • Anyone over 18
  • Anyone who’s been advised or chose to self-manage
  • Anyone waiting for treatment


What will I get?

  • A personalised recovery plan
  • Exercises based on your condition
  • Advice to seek help, if needed
  • Referral to your local healthcare providers, treatments, and services, if needed


How do I download and use getUBetter?

  1. Follow the link to access your local health service https://app.getubetter.com/request- access/1/8a3363abe792db2d8761d6403605aeb7
  2. With the same email, create an account on the app
  3. Follow the instructions on the app, get your recovery plan and get better!


Need more help?
Get in touch: contact@getubetter.com

Get your prescription medication easily

14th June 2023Medication, Patient information, Prescription

The quickest and easiest way to get your repeat prescription is through the NHS app.  If you go to the medication icon,  at bottom of screen,  it will show your items on repeat prescription.  Your request then goes straight to the GP’s inbox.  This is more direct than doing an online consultation to request.

If you have a long term condition which is stable,  and you don’t want to be requesting every 1 or 2 months,  ask about batch  prescriptions (aka “RDS”).  Our inhouse pharmacists can set this up for you.  This means we pre-authorise several prescriptions.  Every 1-2 months you simply collect next medication from your pharmacist.  The batch can last 6-12 months.

If you need help getting started with the NHS app, ask reception,  or the pharmacists at the practice.

If you can’t see a medication you need on the NHS app,  it may be because it wasn’t prescribed for long term use (as acute rather than repeat).  Medications which haven’t been requested in a long time also are automatically moved to “past”. We may be able to rectify. Also “batch” /RDS medications shouldn’t be rerequested through the practice until the batch has been completed at your pharmacy.

You can change your preferred chemist on the NHS app,  eg to one close to work,  or at a temporary address.  Almost all our prescriptions are sent electronically.

Please allow at least 3 working days for your request to be authorised,  as GPs have other competing work and sometimes an extra check may be needed (such as monitoring blood test)

According to national guidance ,  we cannot prescribe some items which are readily available over the counter,  such as hayfever remedies.  Talk to our pharmacist or local pharmacist , or consider low-cost generic items.  We appreciate times are hard,  and it is worth shopping around.

Change to pharmacy requests

14th June 2023Patient information

From Monday 6th February 2023

For many years, pharmacies have been able to request prescriptions from practices. We want to improve safety and reduce wastage in this process.   Local practices in Bow (Bow Health Network) and local pharmacies have agreed a  new standard approach

What can my pharmacy request for me?

  • Repeat medication
  • Repeat dispensing medication (batches of repeat medication)
  • Dosette medication

What can’t my pharmacy request for me?

The following items need to be requested directly by yourself

  • Any acute medication (intended to be one-off, eg course of antibiotics)
  • ​Past medication (not listed as current)
  • Any medication we haven’t prescribed for you before
  • Variable use medication, such as creams, ointments
  • Painkillers – opiates including tramadol, co-codamol, codeine, dihydrocodeine, morphine/oxycodone​
  • Hypnotics (sleeping tablets) – including benzodiazepines and melatonin​
  • Salbutamol inhalers – it is important for your safety we keep track of your reliever inhaler use​. Your preventer inhaler can be requested by the pharmacy.
  • Rescue packs – antibiotics and prednisolone for COPD exacerbations – this is to help us keep track of usage to ensure your safety.​
  • Laxatives 

What if, by mistake, my pharmacy asks for medication in these categories?

The practice will inform the pharmacy and the patient, that the request needs to come from the patient.  With time, the pharmacy should be able to recognise these items and let you know to ask us for them directly.