§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what additional or revised guidance was issued on the use of radiation medicines on patients in the National Health Service between 1972 and 1988; and if he will provide an estimate of the number of radiation medicines in use in each of those years;
(2) which of the recent recommendations of the International Committee on Radiological Protection on the use of radiation physics medicines he proposes to accept and which he does not.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Medicines (Administration of Radioactive Substances) Regulations 1978 regulate the administration of radioactive substances to patients or volunteers (which I assume to be what is meant by the term radiation physics medicines) used by the hon. Member. The Administration of Radioactive Substances Advisory Committee (ARSAC) was established in 1980 to advise Health Ministers on the granting of authorisations for the use of such substances.
ARSAC produce "Notes for Guidance on the Administration of Radioactive Substances to Persons for Purposes of Diagnosis, Treatment or Research", first published in 1980, and subsequently revised in 1984 and 1988. A copy is issued to each applicant.
The most recent publications of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) dealing with radioactive medicinal products were ICRP publication 52 "Protection of the Patient in Nuclear Medicine" (1987) and ICRP publication 53 "Radiation Dose to Patients from Radiopharmaceuticals" (1988). Both these documents were taken into account when the 1988 revision of the "Notes for Guidance" was produced. This publication gives details of effective dose equivalents which are in line with those recommended by the ICRP. Exceptionally on the advice of ARSAC the Secretary of State may authorise procedures resulting in higher effective dose equivalents.
Additional guidance on the use of radioactive medicinal products was given in the "Code of Practice for the Protection of Persons against Ionizing Radiations arising from Medical and Dental Use" (1972), and is included in the "Guidance Notes for the Protection of Persons Against Ionising Radiation arising from Medical and Dental Use" (1988).
Some aspects of the administration of radioactive medicinal products are also subject to the Ionising Radiations (Protection of Persons undergoing Medical Examinations or Treatment) Regulations 1988, issued to all health authorities under cover of health circular HC(88)29.
68WInformation is not held centrally as to the number of radioactive medicinal products in use prior to 1980. While a breakdown cannot be given of the radioactive medicinal products in use in any given year since the establishment of ARSAC in 1980, authority has been given for the use of 876 different radioactive medicinal products at various times in the eight years since its inception.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new courses of treatment using radiation physics medicines within the National Health Service were begun in each year since 1983; and what was the total caseload in each year.
§ Mr. FreemanI have taken the term "radiaction physics medicines" to mean radioactive medicinal products. I regret that information about the number of treatments using radioactive medicinal products, and the total caseloads for each year, is not held centrally.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many medical physicists were working in radiotherapy in the National Health Service in each of the last five years; and how many of those were on the basic grade.
§ Mr. FreemanI regret we do not collect this information centrally.