After addressing a safety concern where a staff member refuses to wear a lead apron, what is the next appropriate action?

After addressing a safety concern where a staff member refuses to wear a lead apron, what is the next appropriate action?

• A. Inform senior radiographer and radiation protection advisor (RDA).
• B. Complete a DATIX form.
• C. Inform surgeon.
• D. Do nothing.

Answer: (A)

When a safety concern arises about a staff member not wearing a lead apron, the immediate step is to escalate to the people best positioned to enforce protection and implement corrective action. Informing the senior radiographer and the radiation protection adviser ensures that the concern is addressed within the proper safety framework: they can review why the PPE isn’t being used, reinforce mandatory policy, provide retraining if needed, check that PPE is available and correctly fitted, and determine if any further risk assessment or temporary changes to the workflow are required. This keeps patient and staff exposure under control and aligns with regulatory requirements. Informing the surgeon wouldn’t directly resolve the PPE noncompliance issue, and doing nothing is unsafe. Documenting the incident in the incident-reporting system is important for records and learning, but the top priority is to involve the appropriate safety leadership to mitigate the risk immediately.

When a safety concern arises about a staff member not wearing a lead apron, the immediate step is to escalate to the people best positioned to enforce protection and implement corrective action. Informing the senior radiographer and the radiation protection adviser ensures that the concern is addressed within the proper safety framework: they can review why the PPE isn’t being used, reinforce mandatory policy, provide retraining if needed, check that PPE is available and correctly fitted, and determine if any further risk assessment or temporary changes to the workflow are required. This keeps patient and staff exposure under control and aligns with regulatory requirements.

Informing the surgeon wouldn’t directly resolve the PPE noncompliance issue, and doing nothing is unsafe. Documenting the incident in the incident-reporting system is important for records and learning, but the top priority is to involve the appropriate safety leadership to mitigate the risk immediately.