Referrals from non-medical professionals

Non-medically qualified registered healthcare professionals such as chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, podiatrists, and chiropodists, may be entitled to refer patients for x-rays as part of their role.

All non-medical referrers (NMR) must complete appropriate IR(ME)R training to be entitled as a referrer to Cobalt Imaging Centre for x-ray.

This training should cover the following topics:

  • Principles of radiation protection.
  • Benefits and risks of x-ray examinations, including radiation dose levels and the use of appropriate low dose, or non-ionising alternative examinations.
  • Ionising Radiation Regulations (IRR) 2017 and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposures) Regulations (IR(ME)R 2017 regulations.
  • Responsibilities of Non-Medical Referrers in relation to patient safety and clinical governance.
  • Professional and legislative responsibilities.

Any patient referral needs to be within Cobalt’s Referrers Scope of Practice.

x-ray for non medical professionals

Start referring to Cobalt in three easy steps

Complete online training

Send in your completed training

Register to be a referrer

Online training required (eLfH)

E learning

e-IRMER module 01  

  • Fundamental Physics of Radiation 

Radiation Hazards and Dosimetry 

  • Biological Effects of Radiation 01-02-01
  • Examples of Radiation Dose 01-02-04
  • Risks v Benefits in Patient Exposure 01-02-05 

Special Circumstances 

  • Use of Medical Exposures in Special Circumstances 01-03-01 

e-IRMER module 02 

  • Management and Radiation Protection of the Patient 

Patient Selection 

  • Patient Selection: The Justification of Patient Exposure 02-01-01 

e-IRMER module 03 

  • Legal Requirements 

Regulations 

  • Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 – IRMER 207 03-01-02

E-learning for healthcare

  • Free access to e-learning for healthcare is available through some professional organisations, such as the Royal College of Chiropractors, or by those with an OpenAthens account.
  • If you do not qualify for free access to e-learning for healthcare, access to the course can be purchased through e-Integrity: IRMER Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations Course (eintegrity.org).
    Further information on how to access e-LfH can be found on their website: https://support.e-lfh.org.uk/get-started/registration/#1553
  • If you have previously (within the last three years) completed alternative IR(ME)R training, such as the British Institute of Radiology, (BIR) ‘Requesting Imaging Safely’ course, or similar, please contact us. This may be accepted in place of the recommended e-IRMER training.

X-ray suite

Medical Charity Cobalt has recently upgraded its x-ray suite with a premium system incorporating the latest technology and advanced features, producing higher-quality images without any increase in radiation dose.

Xray

How to become a referrer

Referrers scope of practice

Have you paused and checked? IR(ME)R