Discussion on opening papers

DR W. M. LOMER

Culham Laboratory Would Professor Upton or Professor Berry comment on whether the increasing control of radiation exposure is in any way limiting possibilities of treatment or diagnosis?

PROFESSOR R. J. BERRY

Sadly, some patients now do refuse diagnostic examinations which would be to their immediate medical benefit because of a misguided perception of the risk involved in the examination. This apparently reached a peak in the post-Chernobyl period. However, responsible professional bodies such as the Royal College of Radiologists are actively involved in producing guide-lines for reducing the number of unnecessary radiographic examinations, such as the pre-operative chest X-ray and the routine skull X-ray after head injury.