Occupational exposure in UK hospitals

The Regional Radiation Physics and Protection Service (RRPPS) of the Medical Physics Department of Birmingham monitors the radiation dose of almost 10,000 hospital staff working in the West Midlands and some other NHS regions. The RRPPS is an Approved Dosimetry Service and holds dose records for over 30,000 staff. The earliest records date from 1949 when less than 200 people were monitored. The dosimetry service has been computerised since 1974. Analysis of the annual records for each category of staff shows the impact particularly of remote after-loading brachytherapy equipment on the reduction of staff doses. The evidence from dose records suggests that with proper working practices, no hospital staff should need to be designated as classified radiation workers under the Ionising Radiation regulations 1985. A significant reduction of the current dose limits may alter this situation. (author)