Radiation Safety in Primary Care and NHS Practices
Diagnostic imaging is playing an increasingly important role outside of the traditional hospital setting. GP surgeries, community diagnostic centres (CDCs), minor injury units and other NHS primary care practices are now delivering X-ray and other diagnostic services closer to patients, helping to reduce hospital referrals and waiting times.
Wherever ionising radiation is introduced into a clinical space, whether that’s a purpose-built community diagnostic hub or a room within an existing GP practice, the same duty of care applies to protecting patients, clinicians and the wider public. Raybloc works with practice managers, estates teams, architects and Radiation Protection Advisors (RPAs) to design and install shielding that meets NHS requirements while fitting comfortably within the space and budget of a primary care setting.
How We Work With NHS & Private Health Practices, From First Conversation to Installation
1. Get in touch as early as possible
If a new build, refurbishment, or CDC development is even being talked about, whether that’s a single room in a GP practice or a full community diagnostic hub, get in touch through our website as early as possible. You don’t need finished drawings or an RPA already in place before reaching out, we can help from the first planning conversation.
2. Room and building review
We look at the space you actually have, whether that’s an existing building being adapted or a new CDC design, and work with your RPA (or help point you toward one if you don’t yet have one appointed), so the shielding requirement reflects your real building, not a generic hospital-scale solution.
3. Practical specification and quote
We translate that requirement into a straightforward, cost-effective specification sized and finished for a primary care or CDC environment, with a clear quote and timeline up front.
4. Installation around your service
Installation is planned around your practice’s operating hours and clinical schedule wherever possible, so the project causes minimal disruption to patients and staff, with straightforward support afterwards.
We provide full project management throughout, so you have a single point of contact from first enquiry through to completed installation. Wherever your project sits in this process, get in touch and we'll pick it up from there.
The Importance of Radiation Safety in NHS Practices
Unlike a large hospital radiology department, many NHS practices are adapting existing buildings, or working within tightly defined community diagnostic centre specifications, to accommodate imaging equipment. This brings its own challenges: rooms are often smaller, adjacent to other clinical or public areas, and subject to the same dose limits and regulatory oversight as any hospital-based facility.
Under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R), practices using X-ray equipment must demonstrate that exposure to staff and the public is kept as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), and that structural shielding has been assessed and signed off by a Radiation Protection Advisor before the equipment is brought into clinical use.
Raybloc supports practices through this process by providing shielding calculations, product specifications and installation that align with RPA requirements, helping practices move from design through to a compliant, operational X-ray room.
Radiation Shielding for Community Diagnostic Centres
Community Diagnostic Centres are one of the NHS’s largest current capital programmes, bringing X-ray, CT, DEXA and other diagnostic services into purpose-built hubs closer to patients. We’ve delivered radiation shielding packages for CT rooms at Plymouth Community Diagnostic Centre, working alongside the main contractor and the project’s Radiation Protection Advisor from specification through to commissioning.
Because CDC schemes are built to national NHS design guidance rather than a one-off hospital brief, we bring specification experience from previous CDC projects into every new one, rather than starting from a blank page each time.
Watch Our Plymouth CDC Walkthrough
Regulatory Standards for NHS & Private Health Practices
NHS practices installing or upgrading diagnostic imaging facilities are typically working within several overlapping frameworks:
- IRR17 – sets out employer duties for managing ionising radiation in the workplace, including structural shielding and local rules.
- IR(ME)R – governs the protection of patients undergoing medical exposure.
- NHS HTM guidance – informs finishes, hygiene and durability standards for clinical environments.
- RPA and RPS sign-off – shielding design should be reviewed by a Radiation Protection Advisor, with day-to-day oversight from a Radiation Protection Supervisor within the practice.
- NHS England community diagnostic centre specifications – where a CDC or satellite imaging service is being developed, national design guidance will also apply.
Raybloc’s role is to translate these requirements into practical, cost-effective shielding that fits the room available, rather than a one-size-fits-all hospital solution.
Types of Imaging Found in NHS & Private Health Practices Settings
NHS practices and community diagnostic hubs may house a range of imaging modalities, each with different shielding implications:
Plain film and digital X-ray
The most common imaging service being introduced into community and primary care settings, typically for chest, musculoskeletal and minor injury indications. Shielding design centres on the primary beam direction, occupancy of adjoining rooms, and any shared walls with public waiting areas.
CT
CT scanning is increasingly offered within community diagnostic centres alongside X-ray, not just in acute hospital settings. CT rooms carry a higher radiation output than plain X-ray, so wall, door and window shielding is typically more substantial, and needs to be assessed for the specific scanner and workload from the outset.
PET and PET-CT
PET and combined PET-CT services introduce additional shielding considerations, including protection around radiopharmaceutical handling and uptake areas, alongside the CT component’s own structural requirements.
DEXA and bone densitometry
Lower-dose than conventional X-ray, but still ionising radiation requiring an assessment and, in many cases, local shielding around the scanning area.
Fluoroscopy and mobile imaging units
Where community services include fluoroscopy or visiting mobile imaging units, additional consideration is needed for scattered radiation and temporary or semi-permanent screening.
MRI
Community diagnostic hubs increasingly include MRI alongside X-ray, CT and DEXA services. MRI doesn’t require lead shielding, but does need a Faraday cage to contain radiofrequency (RF) emissions and prevent electromagnetic interference, a different shielding requirement that still needs coordinating within the same building.
Theatres
Some CDCs and hospital sites incorporate imaging directly into theatres, such as hybrid theatres or rooms using mobile C-arm and fluoroscopy equipment during procedures. These spaces need shielding coordinated around surgical workflow and equipment positioning, not just a fixed room layout.
Raybloc's Radiation Shielding Solutions for NHS Practices
Raybloc works with practice managers and NHS estates teams to design shielding that respects the constraints of an existing building or a new-build community diagnostic centre, without unnecessary cost or disruption. Our primary care and NHS practice range includes:
- Lead-lined doorsets – shielded doors sized and finished to suit clinical and public-facing areas.
- Lead glass viewing windows – allowing operators to observe patients safely from an adjoining control area.
- Mobile X-ray screens – a flexible option where a dedicated shielded room isn’t practical.
- Lead-lined boards – wall and partition shielding for retrofitted rooms in existing practices.
- Wall mounted X-ray warning signs and lights – clear signage for shared or public-adjacent corridors.
The products which we feel are best suited to NHS practices and community diagnostic settings are shown below. Please get in touch if you have a specific room layout or specification you’d like us to review.
NHS Practice Services Involving Radiation or Other Hazards
Services and rooms that regularly involve ionising radiation, or sit close to areas that do, include:
- Plain film and digital X-ray suites within GP practices and health centres
- Community diagnostic centres offering X-ray, CT or DEXA services
- Minor injury units and urgent treatment centres with on-site imaging
- Musculoskeletal (MSK) clinics referring for or hosting X-ray
- DEXA and bone densitometry scanning rooms
- Fluoroscopy services delivered in community settings
- Mobile and visiting imaging units operating from practice premises
- Waiting areas, corridors and reception spaces adjoining any of the above
Raybloc’s solutions are used in NHS practices, community diagnostic centres and hospitals alike, helping ensure the safe use of diagnostic imaging wherever it’s delivered.
Why Work With Raybloc on NHS & Private Healthcare Projects?
Designed around your existing building
Many NHS practice imaging rooms are retrofitted into existing space. Our shielding is specified to suit the room you have, not the room a hospital department would expect.
Aligned to NHS HTM finishes
Products specified with clinical hygiene and durability requirements in mind, suited to a busy primary care environment.
Support through the RPA process
We work alongside your Radiation Protection Advisor to help translate shielding assessments into a practical, installable specification.
Experience across primary and secondary care
Having supplied shielding into hospitals, dental practices and community settings, we understand how requirements differ between a large radiology department and a single-room GP practice installation.
Straightforward project management
From initial enquiry to installation, we aim to keep the process simple for practice managers who may be running a shielding project alongside their day-to-day role.
Case studies
Our work with NHS practices and hospitals demonstrates our expertise in delivering radiation protection solutions tailored to specific clinical needs. View our medical case studies to learn how we have helped trusts achieve compliance, improve health and safety, and enhance patient and staff protection.Radiation Protection Products for NHS Practices
Leaded Doors For X-ray Rooms – Lead Lined Protective Doors
Bespoke lead lined X-ray doors for radiation protection
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RF Shielding Solutions for Reliable Signal and Radiation Control
Raybloc specialise in the design, manufacture, and installation of copper-based shielded enclosures for MRI rooms and other controlled environments.
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Magnetic Shielding for MRI Enclosures
Magnetic shielding is an essential complement to Raybloc’s copper Faraday cage systems.
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Wall Mounted X-Ray Warning Signs
Wherever ionising radiation is present – be it in a hospital, dental practice, or research facility – X-ray warning lights are a critical requirement.
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