Update from the Department of Health Steve Ebdon-Jackson, Public Health England On 6 February 2018, the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R2017) came into force. The complete package associated with these Regulations includes the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 and associated guidance. The Regulations are part of a UK suite of legislation that is intended to transpose the requirements of the EC Basic Safety Standards Directive 2013/59/Euratom. Other regulations from this suite that are relevant to the use of ionising radiation in medical practice include those relating to justification of types or classes of practices and regulations intended to provide protection for occupational and public exposures. IR(ME)R2017 is intended to strengthen the radiation protection of people who are subject to radiological procedures. It provides a simplified legislative framework for medical exposures consolidating existing relevant regulations into an up to date and easily understood single statutory instrument. IR(ME)R2017 revokes or amends existing regulations. The key elements of IR(ME)R2017 are discussed. The introduction of ARSAC licences under IR(ME)R 2017 Louise Fraser, Public Health England The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R2017) will replace IR(ME)R2000 and MARS1978 and will come into force on 6 February 2018. IR(ME)R2017 will introduce a dual licensing system for employers and practitioners for the administration of radioactive substances to individuals as part of their diagnosis, treatment or research. This will provide clear definition of responsibilities of the employer and the practitioner. Details of the licensing process are included within a schedule of IR(ME)R 2017. Transitional arrangements to replace ARSAC certification with dual licensing are included in the regulations. Additional guidance for applicants will be written by ARSAC. This talk will provide an up to date summary of how the regulatory changes will affect services involved in the administration of radioactive substances across the UK.
MPEs in Diagnostic Radiology Dr Elly Castellano, IPEM DR Representative on MPE Working Party The role of the medical physics expert (MPE) is defined in regulation 14 of the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and is described in the Department of Health statement on Medical Physics Experts. Of all the medical physics specialities, diagnostic radiology probably encompasses the broadest range of imaging techniques, clinical and non-clinical applications, and workplaces. In this talk, we will consider the challenges and opportunities facing diagnostic radiology physicists in fulfilling the role of the MPE. In particular, we will identify aspects of the role which are probably additional to current practice; discuss what “high dose interventional radiology and high dose computed tomography” might mean; and consider what impact “involved” and “involved as app ropriate” might have on integrated and contracted medical physics services. MPE for Nuclear Medicine Physicists Dr John Dickson, IPEM NM Representative on MPE Working Party In this presentation, a view will be given on what could constitute a Medical Physics Expert in a Nuclear Medicine setting. Various aspects of the role will be defined and explored, with examples given of what a NM Medical Physics Expert might look like in various hospital environments. A view of what an employer might look for in a Nuclear Medicine MPE will also be given.
MPE for Radiotherapy Physicists Dr David Eaton, IPEM Radiotherapy Special Interest Group Schedule 3 may have gone, but MPEs in radiotherapy are as important as ever. This talk will discuss IRMER17 as relating to therapeutic exposures, including the role of the MPE and new developments in reporting of unintended exposures. Making sense of the MPE syllabus Dr Niall MacDougall, IPEM RT Representative on MPE Working Party MPE in IRMER-99 was backed up by a vague description in the MDGN. In the absence of any firm definition, many local understandings of MPE developed and from this beginning it became increasingly difficult to disentangle the role of MPE from the various professions and specialisms that lay claim to it. With the advent of the 2013 EU directive, member states were required to have a register of MPEs currently practicing and, by February 2018, a method of registering new MPEs. In this talk I aim to address how the how the syllabus came to be and why it contains what it does in the format that it has. Hopefully, such questions as “what is in the syllabus?”, “What is my MSc good for?” and “what about all the training I’ve done?” will all be addressed. In addition, examples of evidence to include in your MPE application will be discussed.
RPA 2000 Prof Peter Marsden, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The purpose of this presentation is to outline the origins of RPA 2000 as a Company formed by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, the Society for Radiological Protection, the Association of University Radiation Protection Officers and the Institute of Radiation Protection, and to describe how it currently operates to certify the competence of Radiation Protection Experts in the UK. The talk will also cover how it relates to the relevant UK Competent Authorities. Incident and learning from the CQC Cliff Double, Care Quality Commission Cliff will provide feedback of early experiences of working within the new IR(ME)R 2017 regulations, focusing on arrangements for notifications reported to the CQC and the ‘learning arising’ from that. He’ll describe a number of back -office changes supporting the new regulations. Cliff will give a perspective drawn from 10 years of enforcement of the earlier 2000 IR(ME)R regulations, a key aspect of which has always been to ensure that organisations have reviewed errors and have taken actions intended to prevent a recurrence. New in the 2017 regulations (regulation 9) is an action for the enforcement authority to share this learning. He will discuss options for that.
A Method for Quantifying Benefit and Risk in Medical Imaging – Back to the Future? Jim Thurston, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust This talk will cover review the ethical, legal and cultural aspects of gaining informed consent for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involving ionising radiation from patients who may have misconceptions about the risks arising from such procedures and the potential benefits. It will also discuss a possible approach to quantifying benefit to provide a more direct comparison to risk for the purposes of Justification and getting Informed Consent.
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