The CIRIS - IR(ME)R Service will be available on line to all CIRIS Members as from 6th September 2004. The IR(ME)R Service is available at no extra cost and further demonstrates the commitment of CIRIS to ensuring members have access to the services they need to meet their governance obligations. The IR(ME)R Service, designed in direct consultation with radiology departments, is focussed on reducing the time and effort to meet your department's statutory obligations and to ensure it is done in a structured and controlled manner.

This new CIRIS Service will help departments save time and make better use of precious resources in implementing IR(ME)R. The Service ensures that IR(ME)R is implemented in a thorough and consistent manner – assuring safe use of ionising radiations throughout the service. The IR(ME)R Service helps you plan for the day of inspection in a systematic manner and then supports the ongoing commitment – helping to make IR(ME)R part of day to day working.

The IR(ME)R Service includes a dedicated electronic User Forum facility that links all users together so they can share advice and experiences of preparing for and going through an IR(ME)R inspection and then living with IR(ME)R on a daily basis – again, helping to save time and establish best practices.

Professor Anne Hemingway, Chairman, Trust Radiation Safety Committee, of Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, who was involved in aspects of the design of the Service, says - “The IR(ME)R Service is an excellent tool for all directorates and departments that utilise ionising radiation as well as for the Trust/Employer. Using it makes the work to assess compliance and monitoring the responsibilities for ensuring ongoing compliance clear, visible and understood to everyone. It sends out a clear signal to the inspectors that IR(ME)R is taken seriously”.

After looking at the Service in action the DoH Radiation Team commented - "This development is to be welcomed by everyone in the service. Our experience is that sites that share their experiences generally are better at complying with the IR(ME)R requirements - the electronic User Forums will directly support this." CIRIS will now work with the DoH team to ensure that the reports directly produced by CIRIS are consistent with information required for proactive inspections.

Dr Paul Dubbins from the CIRIS Governing Board added - "The launch of the IR(ME)R Service for CIRIS is a major milestone for this collaborative project. It exemplifies the value of this service in departmental management. The core of CIRIS is to act as a reliable source of information and provide a record of actions both planned and executed. Of enormous value in delivering aspects of clinical governance CIRIS now offers a management tool for effective IR(ME)R compliance."