Diazepam prescribing

Diazepam Prescribing for Fear of Flying or Medical Procedures

The GP Partners at Kippax Hall Surgery have made the decision not to prescribe diazepam outside of its terms of licence. This includes as a sedative for fear of flying or medical procedures under specialist care.

In the past you may have received a prescription from the surgery for Diazepam to help with anxiety around flying or medical procedures, however this will no longer be possible. This decision has been made in your best interests.

If you feel your anxiety will affect your ability to undergo a medical investigation or procedure, then you should speak to the team providing this care. For procedures such as cataract operations or dental procedures it is the responsibility of the surgeon or dentist to prescribe any sedation, they feel you need. For investigations such as CT and MRI scans there are strict guidelines on safe sedation which radiologists need to adhere to, and it would therefore be unsafe for us to prescribe a sedative for this purpose.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. The use of Diazepam as a sedation whilst flying could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you. This includes but is not limited to:

• A possible impairment on your ability to concentrate and follow vital instructions or react to an emergency situation.
• An increased risk of blood clots in the leg due to the unnatural form of sleep caused by sedative drugs.

In addition, Diazepam is contraindicated (not allowed) in patients with phobias. As such we are unable to and feel it would be unsafe to prescribe Diazepam for fear of flying.

If you would like support with your anxiety, please contact us for information about the range of mental health services available.