Physicist shortage ‘could delay cancer strategy roll-out’

THE roll-out of the national cancer strategy could be further delayed due to a shortage of medical physicists who ensure the safe use of radiotherapy, a trade union conference heard yesterday.

“If the Health Service Executive (HSE) is serious about radiotherapy services, then it has to be serious about training the staff to run it,” said Edwina Jones, a medical physicist and a delegate at yesterday’s special IMPACT conference.

Medical physicists check the dose, quantity and quality or radiation produced by diagnostic and therapy equipment and help plan radiotherapy doses.