We’ve received a number of enquiries about the changes to the Radiation Protection Legislation, so we thought it would be helpful to provide some clarification.
The IRR2017 regulations will replace IRR99, and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2018 (IRMER18) will replace IRMER 2000 and its later amendments.
Action to take now
The most significant change, and one that you need to action now, is that dental practices using ionising radiation on their premises must register with HSE, with a registration fee of £25.
Registration is open now, can be completed using the online application for ionising radiation, and practices must be registered by 5 February 2018.
What to expect
Currently the IRMER18 regulations are still in a final draft format, so nothing is set in stone quite yet. The impact of the changes does seem to be minor, and the FGDP has helpfully outlined many of the differences it is anticipating, on the College of General Dentistry website.
Of course, as soon as the regulations are clear and confirmed, rest assured that we will be updating both our X-ray Quality Assurance (G 125) and Radiation Protection (M 275) kits on the iComply application, so all of our members will automatically benefit from these.