Radiation safety in medical X-rays: Not given due attention

(Baonghean) - In the province, there are quite a large number of facilities applying X-rays to serve life, especially in the medical field. However, radiation safety still has many issues that need attention because many facilities have not yet met standards.

In Nghe An province, there are currently 75 facilities using X-ray diagnostic equipment in healthcare, with more than 128 X-ray devices used in medical examination and treatment. During the inter-sectoral inspection organized in August 2014, the Department of Science and Technology in coordination with the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Health, and the Provincial Police inspected 38 medical facilities using radiation equipment. Of these, 29 facilities with 62 licensed devices, 11 facilities with 17 unlicensed devices or with expired licenses, and some facilities are currently using both licensed and unlicensed devices. Up to now, no cases of radiation-related accidents have been detected in the province. Through inspection, 73 devices (accounting for 92.4%) were in compliance with regulations and only 6 devices (accounting for 7.6%) were not inspected or were inspected past the expiration date.

However, in some facilities, compliance with radiation safety regulations is still limited and has not received due attention. The work of establishing and storing radiation safety records is not complete, safety instructions, security, and radiation warnings are lacking or not installed in the correct location. Up to 84% of facilities have not established and stored personal records for radiation workers; 27/38 facilities do not organize medical examinations and have not stored health records of radiation workers. Even in some facilities, radiation safety regulations and response plans are only sketchy, lacking many important contents, the imaging room lacks accompanying equipment such as warning signs, warning lights, radiation safety regulations, etc. Most worryingly, even doctors, nurses, and technicians who work directly with radiation equipment pay little attention to protecting themselves.

According to regulations, doctors, nurses or technicians who work directly with radiation equipment, specifically in X-ray rooms, must wear lead aprons (a device used to protect the body from absorbing unnecessary amounts of radiation). However, they rarely pay attention to this, and in many places, due to the large number of patients, doctors allow many people to come in at the same time without providing the necessary protection (wearing lead aprons) for patients who have not yet had their turn, or relatives of patients who need help (elderly, children)... Ms. Kieu Thu Trang - an officer of the Technology Management Department, Department of Science and Technology said: Every year, the Department of Science and Technology regularly organizes training on radiation safety for health workers and scientific officers in districts, cities and towns. After each training session, a certificate is issued with a validity of 3 years. However, the implementation of the regulations has not been serious. Little attention is paid to the issue of warnings to patients during medical examinations. Even the issue of using dosimeters to check the radiation exposure levels of doctors, nurses or technicians is also not given enough attention.

In addition, the rooms for installing X-ray equipment in many facilities have not been arranged to meet standards, and have not ensured regulations such as: the clinic must be located far from crowded areas, the X-ray room must be sized according to Vietnamese standards, and have ventilation windows no lower than 2m from the outside floor; Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan - Inspection Department, Department of Science and Technology said: The violating medical facilities have been really receptive, seriously accepting all handling and comments, and at the same time have plans to quickly correct the violations. Through the recent inspection, the inspection team has fined 5 facilities with a total fine of 40 million VND.

Compared to the impact of industrial radiation, the impact of medical radiation is not as severe, but according to scientists' recommendations, when a normal person receives too much radiation, it will affect their health in the long term. Therefore, ensuring radiation safety in X-ray clinics is a matter that needs to be taken seriously.

Hong Anh