by Bernie English
A MEDICAL radiological facility at the University of Limerick was found to be non-compliant in five areas of the regulations governing radiological exposure, following a recent inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
The Human Body Composition Laboratory at UL was inspected on July 19 last and, according to the report, “inspectors found that individuals not entitled to conduct medical exposures had carried out medical radiological procedures”.
“Following this inspection, the laboratory was required to submit an urgent compliance plan to address urgent risks relating to the governance and management arrangements for medical exposures,”
University of Limerick established a research-based facility to investigate human body composition in 2008. Whole body and segment body composition analysis is carried out using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) equipment as part of the research carried out at the laboratory
The report outlined that “Clinical responsibility for volunteers in medical or biomedical research undergoing medical exposure must only be taken by a person entitled to act as a practitioner and includes referral, justification, optimisation, the practical conduct of the exposure and evaluation of the outcome.”
The report also said “Records, documentation and policies relating to medical exposures of volunteers in medical or biomedical research at University of Limerick were reviewed by inspectors.
”Additionally, inspectors spoke with staff, including management at the Human Body Composition Laboratory and persons who carried out the procedures.
“On the day of inspection, University of Limerick had not ensured that all medical exposures took place under the clinical responsibility of a practitioner,” the HIQA report stated.
“The university should see that systems are put in place to ensure that clinical responsibility for medical exposures is allocated to an appropriate person entitled to act as practitioner as required by the regulations. Over the course of the inspection, inspectors found that the justification process of individual medical exposures did not involve a referrer or a practitioner.”
Inspectors found that issues had been raised by way of a self-assessment review of the facility in 2019 and “further assurance was not provided by the undertaking to demonstrate that appropriate actions had been taken to come into compliance in an undertaking assurance report returned to HIQA in June 2021 prompting this on-site inspection,” the report added.
