The Group held its most recent meeting at the IPEM headquarters in York. Items of general interest are summarised below.
Education and Certification of Radiopharmaceutical Scientists
Work continues on the radiopharmaceutical science component of the National Occupational Standards for Health Care Scientists (NOSHCS) which are being prepared for the Department of Health. The UKRG subgroup has met to continue the process of "function mapping". We meet again with the NOSHCS consultants in early November for further refinement of the standards. In the new year the process of field testing will begin. Some of you may already have agreed to take part in this, the objectives of which are to ensure that the terminology is understandable, that the standards reflect actual practice, and to assign the grade of staff competent for each function. The goal is to have all specialty functions in place by May 2004.
There have been further discussions on the subject of a continuing professional development framework for radiopharmaceutical scientists. There are two options which appear promising at the moment. IPEM would be interested in joint accreditation of CPD programmes; however, this will require that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society recognises IPEM accreditation. Alternatively, the College of Pharmacy Practice is supportive of this initiative. Although there is an insufficient number of radiopharmaceutical scientists to constitute a separate faculty, we could be grouped with other specialties in a TSET-like faculty. However, this will require that the college recognise non-pharmacists, which is under consideration.
Radiopharmacy Software Packages A subgroup of UKRG, together with Professor Peter Jarritt, have met with two companies regarding the design and development a radiopharmacy software package suitable for the UK regulatory environment. Neither option would involve up-front investment and the full package could be expected to cost £2000-5000, depending on the scope of operation. The good news is that many desirable features appear to be feasible, including transfer of orders via existing local radiology and nuclear medicine networks and NHS-Net. The bad news is that we are looking at 12-20 months before something is available and, in order to make the developers' investment worthwhile, the systems will likely be intended for use internationally and thus may not be completely tailored to our needs.
Radiopharmacy Workshop 2003 The UKRG workshop has been scheduled for 16-17 January 2003 in Bournville, with the UKRG meeting on 15 January. The two-day workshop entitled "Introduction to PET and PET Radiopharmaceuticals"is being organised by Paul Maltby (Liverpool), Julie Sutcliffe-Goulden (formerly of St Thomas's) and John Clark (Cambridge), and will address radionuclides and their production, radiopharmaceutical preparation, radiation protection, imaging equipment, and clinical and research applications of PET. Registration is now open; book early so as not to be disappointed. For details please contact Paul.Maltby@rlbuh-tr.nwest.nhs.uk (The challenge of getting to Bournville is how to pass the Cadbury factory without gaining half a stone!)
VirRAD VirRAD (Virtual Radiopharmacy), the learning community funded by the European Commission for a three-year period, is continuing its information-gathering phase. If you have not yet completed the questionnaire, please do so via the web site: www.virrad.org. Persons at all levels of experience and responsibility are encouraged to reply. Please make others in your department aware of this and encourage participation.
Reports of Problems Associated with Radiopharmaceuticals The latest tabulation should be included with this Newsletter. There are now regular reports of reactions to I-131-norcholesterol due to its formulation. There are also several instances of faulty packaging or labelling of radiopharmaceutical products.
Lung scanning is in the news. PulmoCIS is currently off the market due to formulation problems and a new batch is not due until January. Though some users have switched to LyoMAA without incident, others have noted that the particles tend to stick in the syringe if it is not agitated immediately prior to injection; LyoMAA does not contain soluble albumin as a suspending agent, as most other formulations do.
After much discussion, it was decided to make our database of reports of radiopharmaceutical problems available on the web site. Look out for it in the near future.
Positron Emission Tomography In our last Newsletter we brought to your attention the Health Technology Board of NHS-Scotland analysis of the use of PET in lung cancer. The now-infamous "Scottish report" conclusion that PET is not cost-effective put a chill on the UK community, in some cases freezing PET proposals which had been on the verge of funding. However, this was only an interim report and the full report is due to be published on 30 October. It is rumoured to be much more favourable to PET, and NICE is expected to follow its recommendations. Keep your eye on www.htbs.org.uk and your fingers crossed.
New Edition of "The Orange Guide" The MCA has published "Rules and guidance for pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors 2002" which supersedes the 1997 edition. For information on ordering, see www.mca.gov.uk.
REMINDER: Product Package Inserts Manfacturers update their product package inserts from time to time. As a courtesy, or if the change is particularly advantageous, they inform customers of the changes but they are not currently obliged to do so. However, it is the responsibility of users to ensure that they are working from the current version of the product information. It might be an idea to keep a list of the dates of revision of package inserts on hand against which to check new shipments.
REMINDER: New Construction Those fortunate enough to have capital funding for renovations or new construction are reminded to keep a close eye on things and make sure there is radiopharmacy input throughout the process. In central pharmacy at my institution, the local contractors made a pig's ear of it and had to rip it out and start over. This can be an even greater problem with PFI projects.
Note from the Editor The editor, Jim Ballinger, Nuclear Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, phone 01223 217351, fax 01223 274596, e-mail: jim.ballinger@addenbrookes.nhs.uk, welcomes any communications that cross the barriers of time and space to reach the wilds of East Anglia!
FOOD FOR THE SOUL: One of the joys of attending UKRG meetings in the Midlands or the North is seeing the morning sunlight on Ely Cathedral as I pass by on the train. It makes yet another discussion of NOSHCS and CPD bearable!