CQC’s annual report on our work to enforce the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) in England during 2025/26 is now published.
The regulations protect patients, carers and comforters from the risks associated with medical exposures involving ionising radiation. These exposures include diagnostic imaging procedures such as X-rays, CT scans and nuclear medicine examinations, as well as radiotherapy treatments. Healthcare providers are required to notify CQC of significant accidental and unintended exposures that meet the threshold for reporting under IR(ME)R.
The report presents an overview of the notifications received between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 and summarises the key findings from our inspection and enforcement activity during the same period.
During 2025/26, we received 996 statutory notifications relating to significant accidental and unintended exposures, compared with 842 notifications in 2024/25.
Notifications increased across all 3 types of services (modalities) that use ionising radiation in health care:
- 492 notifications relating to diagnostic imaging
- 334 relating to radiotherapy
- 170 relating to nuclear medicine.
Diagnostic imaging continued to account for the largest proportion of notifications received during the year, reflecting the volume and diversity of imaging examinations undertaken across England.
The increase in notifications is likely to reflect a combination of factors, including rising demand for services, increasing complexity of patient pathways and technologies, and continued positive engagement with reporting incidents and learning processes. As in previous years, we consider reporting of significant accidental and unintended exposures to be a positive indicator of an open and learning culture. The purpose of notification is not to apportion blame but to support learning, identify opportunities for improvement and strengthen patient safety.
Although the specific causes of incidents varied between modalities, investigations frequently identified common contributory factors including failures in the referral pathway, patient identification issues, communication failures, software and equipment-related problems, and weaknesses in verification processes.
During 2025/26, we carried out 83 IR(ME)R inspections across diagnostic imaging, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine services. Inspection findings continued to highlight recurring themes relating to:
- employers’ procedures
- arrangements for training, checking and maintaining competency of staff
- justification and authorisation of exposures
- referral management processes
- governance and oversight arrangements.
Excerpt from the official page. The original is authoritative. Continue reading at UK Care Quality Commission ↗