State keen to promote nuclear medicine

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 11:35:21 +0000

By LINDA SOKO-TEMBO

GOVERNMENT is committed to ensuring that the public receive therapeutic and diagnostic service in nuclear medicine through environment, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya has said.

Dr. Chilufya said the increase in the use of nuclear medicine in the country can pose health concerns to personnel handling the radioactive sources, patients who are undergoing procedures involving ionizing radiation as well as the safety of the public and environment.

He was speaking in a speech read for him by acting Director of Health Promotion, Environment and Social Determinants,  Dr. Wezi Kaonga at the official opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Training Course on Radiation Protection Safety in Nuclear Medicine.

He said Ministry of Health through the Radiation Protection Authority University Hospital is glad to host this important training course whose objective is to provide participants with the tools and resources to assure radiation protection and safety to patients, workers and the public when performing nuclear medicine procedures.

“Facilities providing this service should ensure that its personnel are adequately trained in radiation safety and the radioactive sources are in safe secure place and there should be a system of accountability,” he said.

Dr. Chilufya explained that the use of unsealed radionuclides in the medicine is increasing throughout Zambia for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, and that the exposure to radiation during a medical procedure needs to be justified by weighing up benefits against the risk that come with the precautions.

“This include considering the benefits and risks of alternative methods that do not involve any exposure to radiation in the case of optimization practitioners need to ensure that the minimum amount of radiation is used to achieve the intended diagnostic objective,” he said.

He said there was need to intensify on this IAEA through the technical programs which are helping in enhancing radiation protection in the field of nuclear medicine through regional courses like this one.

Dr. Chilufya mentioned that Zambia only has one nuclear medicine unit that provides this service. Diagnostic imaging procedures namely bone scintigraphy, myocardial perfusion imaging renal, thyroid and oncology imaging are currently being done.

He said the government under the leadership of President Lungu has future plans of staring to offer iodine-131 therapy for patients with thyroids cancer and will be opening other Nuclear Medicine Units in Ndola and Livingstone. This is in order to improve access to health services by the people of Zambia.