{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/ionising-radiation-medical-exposure-regulations-2017/regulation-6",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/ionising-radiation-medical-exposure-regulations-2017/regulation-6.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2017/1322",
  "legislation_title": "The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/ionising-radiation-medical-exposure-regulations-2017",
  "path": "regulation/6",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "6",
  "heading": "Employer’s duties: establishment of general procedures, protocols and quality assurance programmes",
  "text": "(1) The employer must ensure that written procedures are in place in respect of—\n(a) those matters described in Schedule 2; and\n(b) any other matter in relation to which these Regulations mandate the establishment of procedures.\n(2) The employer must take steps to ensure that any written procedures are complied with by the referrer, practitioner and operator.\n(3) The employer must take steps to ensure that every practitioner or operator engaged by the employer to carry out exposures or any practical aspect—\n(a) complies with the provisions of regulation 17(1); and\n(b) undertakes continuing education and training after qualification including, in the case of clinical use of new techniques, training related to those techniques and the relevant radiation protection requirements.\n(4) The employer must ensure, where appropriate, that written protocols are in place for every type of standard radiological practice coming within these Regulations, including practices involving non-medical imaging.\n(5) The employer must—\n(a) establish recommendations concerning referral guidelines for exposures to which these Regulations apply, including radiation doses, and ensure that these are available to the referrer;\n(b) establish quality assurance programmes for written procedures and written protocols;\n(c) regularly review and make available to an operator, diagnostic reference levels in respect of an exposure falling within—\n(i) regulation 3(1)(a)—\n(aa) where the exposure involves interventional radiology procedures, in which case, diagnostic references levels are to be provided where appropriate; and\n(bb) where the exposure does not involve interventional radiology procedures, in which cases regard must be had to international and national diagnostic reference levels and local dose surveys where available;\n(ii) regulation 3(1)(b) or (e) in which cases regard must be had to international and national diagnostic reference levels and local dose surveys where available;\n(iii) regulation 3(1)(f) where practicable , in which case regard must be had to local dose surveys where available;\n(ca) regularly review and make available to an operator, dose reference levels in respect of radiotherapeutic procedures for typical localisation or verification exposures falling within regulation 3(1)(a), in which case, regard must be had to international and national dose reference levels and local dose surveys where available;\n(d) establish dose constraints for individual effective or equivalent doses over a defined appropriate time period —\n(i) for biomedical and medical research programmes falling within regulation 3(1)(c) where no direct medical benefit for the individual is expected from the exposure; ...\n(ii) with regard to the protection of carers and comforters falling within regulation 3(1)(d); and\n(e) conduct local dose surveys where practicable.\n(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(7) The employer must ensure appropriate reviews are undertaken whenever diagnostic reference levels or dose reference levels are consistently exceeded and ensure that corrective action is taken where appropriate.\n(8) The employer must take measures to raise awareness of the effects of ionising radiation amongst individuals capable of childbearing or breastfeeding.",
  "extent": "E+W+S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(a) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(i) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(i)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(i)(bb) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(i)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(ii) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(ii)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Word in reg. 6(5)(c)(ii) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(ii)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(ii) inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(ii)(cc)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(iii) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(iii)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(c)(iii) inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(b)(iii)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Reg. 6(5)(ca) inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(d) inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(d)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(d)(i) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(d)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Word in reg. 6(5)(d)(i) omitted (1.10.2024) by virtue of The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(d)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F13",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(5)(d)(ii) substituted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(d)(iii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F14",
      "text": "Reg. 6(5)(e) and word inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(2)(e)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F15",
      "text": "Reg. 6(6) omitted (1.10.2024) by virtue of The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F16",
      "text": "Words in reg. 6(7) inserted (1.10.2024) by The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/896), regs. 1(2), 4(4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Reg. 6 in force at 6.2.2018, see reg. 1"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1322/regulation/6",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T23:03:58.483618+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}