Evaluation of a radioisotope service in a general hospital

The value of radioisotopes in medicine has become increasingly apparent over the last few years. Nuclear medicine however recent, has nevertheless reached adult hood and doctors appreciate its substantial contribution in the field of diagnosis especially. So far nuclear medicine has been confined to University Hospital Centres, mainly for legal reasons. However the considerable help offered by this discipline is now taken for granted in the medical world and the wholly experimental stage is long past. While this aspect of nuclar medicine still exists, and is still dealt with by the services of University Hospital Centres, radioisotopes are now used to a large extend and on a day-to-day basis in pathology. Owing to pressure of work it is difficult for UH Centres to meet all request for examinations, so would the presence of nuclear medicine Service be justified in general Hospitals. The existence of one such service at the Bayonne HC might help to answer this question. For this reason the activity of the Bayonne HC Nuclear Medicine Service during its first year of practice is examined here. For a better understanding of the position this report first presents the Bayonne Hospital and the place occupied by a nuclear Medicine service in such an establishment. The activity of this service during its first year is then studied and the situation weighed up generally