It is the responsibility of the Employer (see Formal Appointments and Entitlement of Personnel) to establish Local Rules and Written Procedures and Protocols to ensure staff and patient protection in compliance with the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) [1] and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R) [2]. This documentation and all other evidence required to comply with the regulations are usually contained in the Radiation Protection File.
Note that the templates provided within the PSM Radiation Protection topic are ‘examples’ and users may use alternative documents that fulfil the legislative requirements.
Put together a Radiation Protection File (see Radiation Protection File Overview template) that contains all documentation associated with the use of radiographic equipment including:
- HSE registration certificate (see X-ray equipment);
- a record of entitled staff and their scope of practice (see Formal Appointments and Personnel);
- an inventory of all X-Ray Equipment with details of their specification;
- records of tests of X-Ray Equipment;
- reports of personal dosimetry, as required (see Controlling Exposure and Dose);
- written radiation risk assessments (see Controlling Exposure and Dose);
- Local Rules;
- the Employer’s Written Procedures and Protocols;
- details of your Quality Assurance programme (see Quality Assurance);
- staff Training records;
- record of audits undertaken, e.g. to assess the quality of radiographs (see Quality Assurance).
Ensure that all relevant staff are aware of the contents of the Radiation Protection File and follow practice procedures and policies.
Review the contents of the Radiation Protection File annually to ensure it remains relevant and accurate, and keep a log of when changes are made (see Radiation Protection File Log template).