Respond to draft licence for wider treatment using radioactive materials at Martini Hospital Groningen
Martini Hospital in Groningen wants to use a wider range of radioactive materials in its treatment of patients with cardiovascular, thyroid and prostate conditions. The Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS) intends to issue a licence for this purpose. Until 1 January 2025, all individuals are welcome to make their submissions in response to this draft licence.
Reducing the need for hospitalisation
Martini Hospital is a major specialised teaching hospital in Groningen. The hospital wishes to expand its licence under the Nuclear Energy Act to widen its use of radioactive materials and enable doctors to administer higher doses. These changes would enable doctors to treat patients on an outpatient basis and reduce the need for hospitalisation.
Radioactive materials for diagnosis and treatment
The medical use of radioactive materials helps doctors identify the nature of the problem with a patient’s heart. These materials can also be used to treat an overactive thyroid. A relatively new application is geared towards helping patients who suffer from prostate problems.
Three reasons to grant an expanded licence
We want to grant an expansion of the hospital’s licence for three main reasons. First, the hospital takes sufficient measures to protect staff, patients and the environment from radiation. Second, the hospital has a sufficient number of specialists in-house to handle radiation safely. Third, patients stand to benefit from the expansion.
Responses welcome until 1 January 2025
You can review the draft licence (in Durch) for Martini Hospital until midnight on 1 January 2025 (in Dutch). If you have any views on this draft licence you wish to present, you may do so by submitting a statement of opinion.
There are three ways to respond:
- By email: send an email to Postbus.Aanvragenenmelden@anvs.nl and put ‘Statement of Opinion concerning draft licence for Martini Hospital’ in the subject line.
- In writing: send a letter to the ANVS and mark it ‘Statement of Opinion concerning draft licence for Martini Hospital’. The address is PO Box 16001, 2500 BA The Hague.
- By phone: call the Information Desk for Nuclear Energy Act licences at +31 (0)88 489 05 00, available from Monday to Friday between 8.30 and 17.00.
Response in final licence
We will respond to the statements of opinion when we take a final decision on Martini Hospital’s licence application. We will include the statements of opinion and our response to them in our final decision on the licence. This decision will also be published on our website. If you have submitted a statement of opinion, you can also receive a link to the definitive licence. Please indicate in your statement of opinion if you wish to receive this link.
Want to know more?
Read the official announcement in the Government Gazette (in Dutch). Or go to our website if you would like to find out more about our monitoring of nuclear medicine (in Dutch).