New body to check radiation levels of all X-ray centres

Soon the thousands of medical radiation centres that have mushroomed in every nook and alley of the city will have to get their act together and conform to a code of norms that ensure that they are not exposing their clients and residents in their vicinity to the hazards of radiation Once the Directorate of Radiation Safety DRS is established it would be mandatory for all the diagnostic centres including those run in private civic and government hospitals to register their establishments with DRS Representation pic The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board AERB signed an MOU memorandum of understanding with the state governments of Maharashtra and Orissa on January 21 and January 24 respectively to form the Directorate of Radiation Safety DRS in these states Once the DRS is established it would be mandatory for all the diagnostic centres which offer services like Xray CT scans and mammograms including those run in private civic and government hospitals to register their establishments with DRSu00a0 Also officials attached to DRS will visit centres and inspect the layout of machines their distance from the relatives of patients when testing is done availability of qualified technicians and other important considerations And if the centres are found violating any of the prescribed safety norms DRS through the AERB would have the power to even derecognise such diagnostic centres AERB Secretary R Bhattacharya said ldquoThe basic reason behind establishing the Directorate of Radiation Safety is to decentralise the regulation diagnostic medical imaging tests centres which run machines for Xrays Computed Tomography CT scans and mammograms all of which are known to emit radiationsrdquo Bhattacharya added ldquoThe last statistics on such diagnostic centres is from the 1990s which showed that over 50000 medical diagnostic centres were then operational across the country Of course the number is much higher today and there is no check on radiation safetyrdquo Asked when things would be in place Bhattacharya said ldquoAs per the MOU the state government has to provide the required infrastructure and manpower AERB would be the governing authority who would provide all required support to ensure radiation safety policy is followed at these diagnostic centresrdquo Doctors wary While some doctors welcomed the move others appeared circumspect Dr Rajan Badwe director of Tata hospital said ldquoThe safety of people working in these areas is now guaranteed Also the areas around such centres which would otherwise be exposed to radiation would now be checked and monitoredrdquo Dr Sandeep Nyayanirgune practising radiologist who is also a radiation safety officer RSO for a major hospital in Mumbai said ldquoThe move to set up DRS is welcome it will not only help to check the standards of Xray CT or mammogram machines being used at the diagnostic centres but will also ensure quality work patient care and protection However AERB should be lenient about the space allotted for installations of such machines as space is a major issue in a city like Mumbai where such diagnostic centres may not be able to pass specific layouts as per AERB norms Instead the AERB should insist on optimal requirements for protection from medical radiation hazardsrdquo Officialspeak T C Benjamin additional chief secretary Health who signed the MOU on behalf of Maharashtra Government was not available for comment Chief Secretary Jayant Banthia said ldquoI am aware about the discussions but I do not have details of the MOU off handrdquo Did you know Maharashtra is the third state in India to sign the MoU following Kerala and Mizoram which signed it in 1999 and 2011 respectively u00a0