In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ireland and the challenges this presents to the health service, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has announced a temporary suspension of its routine programme of monitoring inspections in hospital based services. This suspension will also extend to inspections of all ionising radiation undertakings.



This decision will be kept under regular review and any updates published on www.hiqa.ie. HIQA will continue to monitor the safety and quality of all health services and will investigate as necessary any serious concerns about the health and welfare of people who use these services.



The statutory obligation to report notifications of accidental and unintended exposures to ionising radiation is not affected by this decision. Furthermore HIQA will continue to receive, review and appropriately respond to any issues of concern identified by staff or members of the public, in line with our legal remit.



For up-to-date information on guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak in Ireland please see www.hse.ie.