Overseas Placements and Covid-19

Due to Covid-19, there are restrictions on international travel. HEE have developed criteria and processes to be followed for decisions involving international travel for HEE sponsored or funded fellowships. HEE-sponsored global learning opportunities, which involve international travel, are a valued and valuable opportunity for personal development and learning for all participants. However, this must adhere to HEE’s duty of care to ensure any person it sponsors or supports to travel internationally can do so safely.

Conditions for Overseas Travel (agreed August 2021)

  1. The country of the specific partnership site is on the UK Government’s ‘green’ list, allowing international travel to and from the UK and the country
  2. There are commercial flights and inland travel available to the partnership site at least weekly and at a reasonable price (to enable fellows to return to the UK if the travel status changes from green to either an amber or red category)
  3. Repatriation Insurance for fellows is possible, so that if any become unwell (for any reason) they would not become a burden on local health services
  4. The overseas partner organisation wishes to have fellows physically present and working with them.
  5. The capacity of NHS is sufficient to release staff for overseas placements
  6. Fellows have had a full COVID-19 vaccine course (2 doses, at time of writing)
  7. Fellows follow COVID-19 related travel guidance set out by the UK FCDO

Partner Countries

There are currently partnerships in eight countries among the three Global Fellowship Programmes directly managed by HEE’s Global Health Partnerships Directorate, as well as the Global Health Fellows (GHF) programme, which is funded by HEE and managed by the HEE East of England Regional Office.

  1. Anguilla
  2. Cambodia
  3. Lesotho
  4. Myanmar
  5. South Africa
  6. Thailand
  7. Uganda
  8. Zambia

The current travel status of each of these countries can be found on the FCDO Travel Advice website. International travel between the UK and the above countries is under regular review, and so the current categorisation could change at any time and at short notice.  We recognise that decisions are not always straightforward, and in some cases need to be made on a case-by-case basis, balancing risk and benefit, using the conditions above and the UK Government travel categorisation.