ISRRT Response

ISRRT Action Plan

Bonn Call For Action

The “International Conference on Radiation Protection in Medicine: Setting the Scene for the Next Decade” was held 3-7 December 2012 in Bonn, Germany. It was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), and hosted by the Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The Conference had the specific purpose of identifying and addressing issues arising in radiation protection in medicine, and aimed to:

•   indicate gaps in current approaches to radiation protection in medicine;
•   identify tools for improving radiation protection in medicine;
•   review advances, challenges, and opportunities in the field of radiation protection in medicine; and
•  assess the impact of the International Action Plan for the Radiation Protection of Patients, in order to prepare new international recommendations, taking into account newer developments.

Participants from 77 countries and 16 international organizations attended the Conference, and an important outcome was the identification of responsibilities and a proposal for priorities for stakeholders regarding radiation protection in medicine for the next decade. This specific outcome is called the Bonn Call-for-Action. It is a statement that identifies the main actions considered to be essential for the strengthening of radiation protection in medicine. Participants and organizations who attended the Conference expressed the need for a joint statement to be issued by the IAEA and the WHO.

The joint position statement to the Bonn Call-for-Action by the IAEA and WHO, published July 2013, identified ten major actions and related sub-actions as being essential for the strengthening of radiation protection in medicine over the next decade. The actions can be found at http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/medical_exposure/Bonn_call_action.pdf and are listed as:-

Action 1: Enhance the implementation of the principle of justification

Action 2: Enhance the implementation of the principle of optimization of protection and safety

Action 3: Strengthen manufacturers’ role in contributing to the overall safety regime

Action 4:  Strengthen radiation protection education and training of health professionals

Action 5:  Shape and promote a strategic research agenda for radiation protection in medicine

Action 6 – Increase availability of improved global information on medical exposures and occupational exposures in medicine

Action 7:  Improve prevention of medical radiation incidents and accidents

Action 8: Strengthen radiation safety culture in health care

Action 9: Foster an improved radiation benefit-risk dialogue

Action 10: Strengthen the implementation of safety requirements globally

Since the Bonn Call-for-Action meeting the new Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards (BSS) was published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as General Safety Requirements Part 3 in July 2014.

The ISRRT was as a stakeholder and participant at the Bonn Call-for-Action meeting making a number of positive contributions and as a result the ISRRT followed this up by producing their own response called the ‘ISRRT Action Plan to the Bonn Call for action’. This was adopted at the January 2015 ISRRT board meeting in London.

This document, wich can be found at the top of this page, outlines specific areas that the ISRRT will concentrate their resources and effort to over the next four years.

The ISRRT Board believes that work in these areas will help radiographers and technologists to contribute positively to the safe and effective use of radiation in medicine.

The first initiative and response to the ISRRT Action Plan is that undertaken by Stewart Whitely and Donna Newman who have worked focused on The Bonn Call-for-Action 1 which addresses the issues that relate to the enhancement of the principle of Justification and Action 10 which addresses the strengthening the implementation of safety requirement globally.

The aim is to:-

      a) Add a section on the website to promote and post information on Justification and the contribution of the radiographer/technologist

     b) Develop decision tool on Justification relating to the role of radiographer in the healthcare team house on ISRRT website and present to HERCA

     c) Produce a policy document which supports and influences the implementation of the BSS

The overall objective is to produce a common approach to Justification and Authorisation of medical exposures across all countries and healthcare settings. ISRRT believes that common approach, with a defined pathway, will assist radiographers and technologists in understanding the principles and their role of justification and authorization process and provide some helpful and practical information to enable this to happen successfully.