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Health ministry to launch radiation protection drive

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health will launch a radiation protection drive, as the heads of medical centres and hospitals are needed to be sensitised about the imprudence of safety and radiation protection.

This was stated by Secretary Health, Ejaz Rahim while speaking as chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the five-day IAEA-PAEC National Workshop on "Radiation Protection in Radio-Diagnostic, Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicines Institutions" here at NORI Hospital on Friday.

He said the ministry will work out a plan for the awareness and training of concerned officials of the health sector in close cooperation with Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) and the upcoming Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA).

He welcomed the development in connection with Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority and hoped that the authority in the light of rich experience of PAEC would be able to effectively discharge its responsibilities.

Ejaz Rahim said that the successful implementation of various clauses of PNRA would need hundreds of trained radiation safety auditors and thousands of safety-conscious radiation workers and professionals.

He assured that the ministry of health would extend full cooperation to PIEAS to make the launching of Bio-medical engineering a success.

The secretary health also lauded PAEC's contributions towards the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and its role in making defence of the country impregnable.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abdullah Sadiq, Director General, PIEAS said that the workshop was meant to create awareness about the basic principles of radiation safety.

He hoped that the people having extensive research and teaching experience in the radiation field would conduct similar workshops tailor-made to the specific needs of the radiation workers.

Dr. Abdullah said that the federal and the provincial health ministries may consider instituting attractive fellowship to motivate bright young science engineering graduates to opt for careers in medical physics.

He said the workshop brought together on one-platform professionals from around the country in the diverse fields of medicine, radiology and medical physics, adding, they shared their concerns and experiences regarding the problems of radiation exposure during informal discussions.

"A common concern expressed during the such discussions was the lack of awareness about radiation safety among the decision makers in the health sector," Abdullah noted.

The secretary health also distributed certificates and shields among the participants of the workshops.

It may be mentioned here that three leading medical physicists including Drs. Lee Collins, John Drew and Richard Smart, conducted an intensive five-day workshop comprising of lectures and some laboratory experiments related to various aspects radiation protection. APP