No more needles

Finally, I've been plugged full of as much rabies, hepatatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and goodness knows what else as I need to be. Three trips and eight injections, at an average of nearly £40 an injection.

Now all have to do is get my GP to prescribe 150 tabs of anti-malarial drugs on prescription: saving me approximately £140 compared to the cost of buying the drugs privately.

Previous experience of my GP is that he couldn't care less about giving me any holiday vaccinations: he referred me to the nurse, who told me they only do yellow fever and I should go to a travel clinic, hence me paying an arm and a leg for the same inoculations that my husband got for the price of two or three prescription charges from his GP.

I'm not entirely sure about all this. On the one hand, the choice to go abroad does mean injections that aren't, strictly speaking, necessary (one can always choose to stay home) so perhaps paying for them is fairer than demanding the NHS should cover it.
On the other hand, as the travel clinic nurse said, some diseases are coming back now, because some people can't afford to have vaccinations. I was lucky enough to be able to pay a large amount of money - some people who want to work abroad aren't blessed with a savings account.
One thing's for certain: I wouldn't feel so hard done by having to pay for them if I wasn't standing next to someone who hasn't had to. It's the inconsistency that creates the problem.