This year’s 15th edition of the National Conference “Ionising Radiation in Medicine” PJOMED 2024, organised by the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care, will be held on June 3-4, 2024 as a hybrid event: in Łódź and online on the web platform. More information coming soon.
National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care (NCRPHC) has prepared the Polish language version of two important documents on clinical audits, which are the official position of the HERCA association (Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities), the Working Group on Medical Applications.
The translated documents have already been made available for download on the website of the National Centre:
(Other documents presenting official position of HERCA are available in English on the website: https://www.herca.org/documents/)
The first document presents, among others: the definition of a clinical audit and its cycle, clinical audits in terms of Directive 97/43/Euratom, other audits and inspections of radiological practices, expectations towards a clinical audit and challenges related to its implementation, and international and European clinical audit initiatives.
The second document, which is an annex and complements the first one, details the definition of a clinical audit under the BSS Directive and explains the differences between a clinical audit, a regulatory audit, and an inspection. It also discusses specific audit examples in the UK. Both documents also contain literature about audits and related European regulations.
HERCA members are the Radiation Safety Authorities in Europe, represented by their heads – the association includes 56 offices from 32 European countries. The main goal of HERCA is cooperation for radiation protection. Meetings of international experts are intended to discuss problems related to radiation protection and to develop common solutions to them. HERCA is also a forum for the share of information and experience, regarding the practical transposition of European legislation and international recommendations, for Radiation Safety Authorities.
The NCRPHC initiative to translate HERCA documents into Polish, which is part of the tasks of the National Centre in increasing the availability of publications on the use of ionising radiation in medicine, is intended to support Polish doctors, radiologists and other people interested in the use of ionising radiation in medicine in the fuller use of European solutions and proper understanding issues related to clinical audits. It may also contribute to greater appreciation of the importance of clinical audits in building and improving good radiological practices that serve the well-being of patients.
We encourage you to use the Polish versions of HERCA documents we provide!
We hereby inform that that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organises a webinar “Radiation Protection in New Radionuclide Therapy Procedures”. This webinar will provide an overview of the radiation protection issues in using new types of radionuclide therapies, and present some practical considerations and technological tools that may contribute to the enhancement of patient protection.
Presenters: Søren Holm (Denmark), Soma Somanesan (Singapore) and Kuangyu Shi (Switzerland)
The webinar (in English) will be held on 23 January 2024, at 3 pm CET.
More information and registration link available here. We invite you all to take part in this webinar.
The one-day symposium on “Radiation Safety in Nuclear Power” organized by the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care in partnership with the Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź was held on November 29, 2023.
The event was attended by more than 280 participants, included General Sanitary Inspector of the Polish Armed Forces as well as representatives of Polish Centre for Accreditation, Air Ambulance Service, State Fire Service, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Sieradz Municipal Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Company, representatives of the State Sanitary Inspectorate from Łódź, Gdańsk, Katowice, Opole and Rzeszów and representatives of National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care. The large group of participants included scientists, academics, students at the University of Łódź, Lodz University of Technology and Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences, teachers and students at senior secondary schools, as well as other people interested in the topics discussed.
A series of six lectures was presented by Przemysław Żydak (Sotis Advisors LLC, Warsaw University of Technology), Jarosław Perkowski (Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety, University of Łódź), Krzysztof Kozak (Laboratory of Radiometric Expertise, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow), and Marek Krzysztof Janiak (radiobiologist, immunologist and epidemiologist, formerly the Department of Radiobiology and Radiological Protection, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw).
Małgorzata Wrzesień, Vice-Dean for Teaching and Quality of Education of the Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź, gave the opening speech. The introduction speeches were also given by Łukasz Korporowicz, Vice-Rector for Research, the 1st Deputy of the Rector of University of Łódź, Paweł Maślanka, Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, University of Łódź, and Dariusz Kluszczyński, Director of the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care.
Topics covered in the first part of the symposium included: concepts for the development of nuclear energy in Poland, legal, organizational, and technical issues related to the decision-making process, project development, selection of technologies, locations, and contractors, as well as legal requirements and the status of implementation of nuclear power plant construction projects in the country. The future of nuclear power and the current directions of its development in Poland and in the world were also discussed. The lectures ended with a question-and-answer session from the audience.
In the second part of the symposium, the health effects of absorbing low doses of ionising radiation were analysed in detail, citing numerous research results conducted around the world over the last several decades and presenting the results of own laboratory and comparative tests. A wide range of issues related to emissions of radioactive substances during the operation of nuclear power plants was also presented, indicating the types of emissions and their observed levels, applicable limits, and methods of monitoring emissions in the context of potential threats to people and the environment.
The summary of the symposium was another question-and-answer session, followed by a discussion with the audience, during which many important topics and problems related to the development of nuclear power plants were raised.
Both the large number of participants, the lively discussion and numerous questions indicate great interest in the issues discussed, confirming the need to organize further meetings on nuclear power.
We would like to inform you that on the website of the HERCA association (Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities), the Working Group on Medical Applications, the Documents tab contains papers presenting the official position of HERCA, including on clinical audits:
The documents are available in English. NCRPHC has made efforts to develop a Polish language version of the materials in the future.
HERCA members are the Radiation Safety Authorities in Europe, represented by their heads – the association includes 56 offices from 32 European countries. The main goal of HERCA is cooperation for radiation protection. Meetings of international experts are intended to discuss problems related to radiation protection and to develop common solutions to them. HERCA is also a forum for the share of information and experience, in particular with regard to the practical transposition of European legislation and international recommendations, for Radiation Safety Authorities.
We encourage you to visit the HERCA website and use the available papers!
