| Administrative history | In 1968 the Physics Department had a staff of 12, under a head Physicist. The main function of the department was to provide physics support for Radiotherapy. The Professor of Physics, Joseph Rotblat was the nominal head of all the Physics sections in the hospital, including the Radioisotope and Medical Electronics Departments. The radiation safety work was minimal, with George Innes advising on the design of radiation rooms, and the use of radionucleides, and a small film badge service.
After the retirement of Innes, Dr CA Greatorex was appointed in 1970 as Principal Physicist in charge of the re-named Radiation Physics Department, covering radiotherapy physics and radiation safety.
This department diverged into two sections, with radiation physicists based in the Radiotherapy Department and providing physics, engineering and electronics support for radiotherapy, and a separate Radiation Safety group based in Dominion House covering all aspects of radiation protection for staff and patients in the City and Hackney District, and latterly the Trust.
St Bartholomew's Hospital Research Unit for the Handicapped, established in 1971, which developed equipment to support people with disabilities at home and in hospital, was also for some time run as part of the Physics Department. |