Secretary of State's POPUMET Inspectorate: the first six years.

The first six years work of the Secretary of State for Health's Inspectorate for regulation 4 of the Ionising Radiation (Protection of Persons Undergoing Medical Examination or Treatment) Regulations 1988 is described. The regulations are colloquially known by the acronym POPUMET, and implement European Directive 84/466 EURATOM in Great Britain. This laid down basic measures for the protection of persons undergoing medical examination or treatment involving ionising radiation. The POPUMET regulations are applicable to all health care settings, public or private sector, but exclude research. Regulation 4 is intended to prevent unnecessary or excessive medical exposure to radiation. Of 68 reported incidents, 54 (79%) were relevant to regulation 4, comprising 20 (37%) incidents in radiotherapy, 21 (39%) in radiology, 11 (20%) in nuclear medicine and 2 (4%) in dental radiology. Allowing for the denominator number of NHS departments in England, the greatest frequency of incidents were reported from radiotherapy departments, followed by nuclear medicine and then radiology departments. Of the 54 incidents investigated, 42 (78%) required a site visit; 39 (72%) resulted in advice from the Inspectorate; 13 (24%) required no action following investigation and 2 (4%) were still under investigation as at 31 May 1994. No enforcement notices were issued and there were no prosecutions.