The latest meeting of the Group took place at Aston University, Birmingham on July 13th 2000. Items of general interest are included in this newsletter.
Training course in radiopharmacy A European training course is being held in Paris from November 13th to 28th 2000. The course, in English, will cover block 2 of the syllabus published in the EJNM. There is some financial assistance to enable people to attend the course (approx 300 euros) and there is no registration fee for the course.If interested, please contact Steve Mather (e-mail mather@icrf.icnet.uk) as quickly as possible.
Plans for a UK training course at Easter 2001 are still being developed.
Training workshop. The group is arranging a one day workshop on Friday 12th January at the Beeches college, Birmingham. The format will be similar to that of the previous successful workshops. Details of topics will be included in the next newsletter, when booking forms should also be available. Anticipated course fee is £50 - £60. Please note the date in your diary.
Radiopharmacy Handbook You may have noticed that the handbook has appeared on the BNMS website. However, this is not the most up to date version and there have been some significant alterations. It is hoped to have the most recent version substituted on to the website as soon as possible.
Group patient directions You may recall from the previous newsletter that the group had responded to the consultation document on this topic. (MLX 260). Despite the intentions of the MCA to finalise matters by July, we have not received any reply and at the time of writing, it looks as if matters are taking longer than planned. Stay tuned for further developments.
IR(ME)R There is a consultation document " Medical and Dental Guidance Notes. A good practice guide to implement ionising radiation protection legislation in the clinical environment" currently open for comment. It is a large document (over 200 pages) and can be seen on the web. (www.ipem.org.uk). The group hopes to make a response on topics which directly affect radiopharmacy. Any comments welcome – but needed by the end of August.
Training aids that may be helpful for radiopharmacy staff have been identified. There is a video entitled Contamination Control (Working with unsealed sources of radioactive material). Although primarily aimed at lab workers, it has some useful discussion points. Available from Sheffield University Television (0114 222 0400). Cost approx £50. A CD ROM called CALRAD is available from Medical Physics Dept, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee (01382 632970). This includes an MCQ package. Finally a PCCAL Radiochemistry and Radiopharmacy package is available from CoAcS Ltd, Bath (01225 312992) at a cost of £180.
MAL 14 /GN 14 This has now been implemented and various questions that could have a bearing on radiopharmacy have been put to the MCA. The age old question of whether a radiopharmaceutical prepared according to the instructions in a licensed kit using the eluate of a licensed generator still causes discussion. There could also be an interesting situation should a licensed F-18 FDG become available.
Radiopharmacy problems database
The latest collation was discussed and you should have received one. If not please contact Stuart Hesslewood (s.r.hesslewood@aston.ac.uk). Specific reference was made to the report on the previous collation where Iodine 131 therapy capsules had been found to contain much higher activity than anticipated. A response from the manufacturer (outside the UK !) indicated that there had been some problem with their calibration equipment during dispensing but they thought that all capsules affected had been identified and not despatched. Just goes to show you can’t rely solely on the labels on the vial ! Had the incident occurred within the UK, it would have been reportable.
On line reporting at www.BNMS.org.uk seems to be catching on and it is hoped to make further use of this facility for dissemination of information. The BNMS is currently looking at a range of web servers with a view to upgrading the whole site. This may involve restricting access to certain sections of the site to members only. By restricting public access, certain information about products could be displayed without contravening the Medicines Act.
PTQA course The teaching, examination and coursework for the radiopharmacy module is now complete. Feedback from the participants will be interesting and hopefully helpful for planning future courses. Changes in the overall course structure mean that in future, radiopharmacy will not be a core module. It remains to be seen whether this is an advantage or disadvantage.
Radpharm discussion group There seems to be considerable amount of material coming up in this internet based system, some of which is helpful and informative. If you are interested, but have not yet subscribed, please contact Steve Mather (mather@icrf.icnet.uk)
Any other general comments, views, news can be sent to:
Stuart Hesslewood (s.r.hesslewood@aston.ac.uk)