Radiotherapy Department General Advice
This section has been extracted from the “ISRRT Response
Document-appropriate and safe use of Medical Imaging and Radiation
Therapy with infection control measures considered in addition to
standard radiation protection procedures. April 2020”. It is
available on the ISRRT Website (https://www.isrrt.org/full-guideline-protective-measures). It is edited and compiled by A.Stewart Whitley,
Director of Professional
Practice - International Society of Radiographers and Radiological
Technologists(ISRRT) following valuable input from many radiography
expert contributors.
1. Treatment/ environment Consideration
- Consider evidence-based shorter fractionation schedules and deferring radiotherapy for some groups
- Use the RADS (Remote, Avoid, Defer, Shorten) principle to help plan individual patient treatment
- Consider re-scheduling of non-urgent routine follow-up cases
- Wipe down of the treatment couch or accessories after each patient
- Thorough cleaning of all area used by suspected or confirmed Covid -19 patients
- Ensure infection prevention measures are employed when managing the treatment room used to treat patient
- Schedule Covid-19 patient appointment to be different timing from other patients who are at particularly increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19
- Minimal waiting time of the COVID -19 patient in the radiotherapy department.
- Upon arrival, Covid-19 patient should be waiting in an isolation room away from the main waiting area
- If multiple treatment machines are available, to designate ‘dirty’ machine for Covid-19 patients. If not possible, to arrange for Covid-19 patient to be treated as the last patient of the day