PATIENT RADIATION SAFETY

Below you will find sections on UK legislation, UK guidance and European guidance, with links to useful documents and information.
Please note that we do not claim that this is an exhaustive list of applicable legislation.

LINKS TO UK LEGISLATION FROM 6TH FEBRUARY 2018

IRMER impose duties on those responsible for administering ionising radiation to protect persons undergoing medical exposure whether as part of their own medical diagnosis or treatment or as part of occupational health surveillance, health screening, voluntary participation in research or medico-legal procedures. Minor amendments can be found in The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2018.
The above regulations apply to Great Britain. Similar regulations apply in Northern Ireland; The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018

Permits Prescription Only Medicines (POMs) which fall under an ARSAC license to be administered by an IRMER Operator.

Authorisation by police inspector of x-ray of arrested person who may have swallowed a Class A drug (England & Wales, with section 6 for Northern Ireland).

LINKS TO UK GUIDANCE

Prepared by the Department of Health and Social Care, June 2018, covering both UK and Northern Ireland IRMER.

The web page of the Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC), who issue ARSAC Certificates. Excellent Notes for Guidance can be downloaded from this page, which include typical patient doses for a large number of procedures.

Public Health England and the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) practical guidance for dentists covering both IRR 2017 and IRMER 2017, published in October 2020. (Pre-October 2020 guidance is still available from this link.)

Guidance on what incidents need to be notified to the authorities under IRMER regulation 8. Published June 2019 by Care Quality Commission (England), Healthcare Inspectorate Wales,the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (Northern Ireland), and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. See also CQC SAUE page

The NDRL values should be considered by employers when setting their local DRLs as required by IRMER.

MS Word document compiling IRMER regulations and guidance, produced by Hullrad team

"Guidance on using shielding on patients for diagnostic radiology applications", BIR/IPEM/PHE/RCR/SCoR/SRP, 2020. Overall, the findings suggest that contact shielding (e.g. thyroid shields, lead rubber aprons, gonad shields, breast shields on patients) provides minimal or no benefit and professionals should concentrate on other areas of radiation protection which are more effective in optimising the patient radiation exposure.

Faculty of General Dental Practicioners, UK (FGDP)

LINKS TO EUROPEAN & INTERNATIONAL GUIDANCE

2013/59/EURATOM - Basic Safety Standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation. To be tranposed into UK law by 6/02/2018.

Web page with numerous PDF downloads.

ADDRESS
Radiation Physics Department
Queen's Centre
Castle Hill Hospital
Cottingham
East Yorkshire
HU16 5JQ
U.K.
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