3. Written procedures, entitlement and inspection
Employer’s written procedures
IR(ME)R expects procedures that staff actually use, covering at least: entitlement; referral criteria and identification of the patient; justification; authorisation of the exposure; optimisation (including quality assurance); clinical evaluation of the outcome; and how accidental or unintended exposures are identified and reported.
A folder copied from another practice and never opened is not compliance.
Entitlement
The employer must name (or clearly describe) who may act as referrer, practitioner and operator for which examinations. Entitlement should match training evidence. If a locum dentist arrives, check entitlement before they expose anyone.
CQC and GDC
CQC (England) looks for a working radiation protection file: procedures, local rules (IRR17), training, equipment test reports, and evidence that images are justified and evaluated. GDC Standards require you to put patients’ interests first and to work within your competence — exposing patients without justification or training fails both.
How the five years fit together
Work through the series in numerical order: Year 1, then Year 2, then Year 3, then Year 4, then Year 5.
- Year 1 (this module) — law, roles, procedures.
- Year 2 — justification and selection criteria.
- Year 3 — optimisation and dose.
- Year 4 — pregnancy, children, CBCT, explaining risk.
- Year 5 — quality assurance, incidents and audit.
Each year is 1 hour. Together they are 5 hours over 5 years for the dentist IR(ME)R update. You can complete the next year as soon as the previous one is finished — you do not have to wait a calendar year.
Always follow current IR(ME)R 2017, IRR17 and your employer’s procedures.