Prime
Over 30 health units using unlicensed equipment - govt
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine (right), commissions the refurbished X-ray unit at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital on September 12, 2023. PHOTO | MALIK FAHAD JJINGO
What you need to know:
- According to the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), the non-compliant facilities include clinics and hospitals that operate facilities that use radiation such as mobile, portable and fixed x-ray machines, intra-oral dental x-ray machines and computed tomography x-ray machines.
At least 30 health facilities in the central region have been singled out by a regulatory agency for using radiation sources without a licence, which could endanger lives of patients and operators.
According to the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), the non-compliant facilities include clinics and hospitals that operate facilities that use radiation such as mobile, portable and fixed x-ray machines, intra-oral dental x-ray machines and computed tomography x-ray machines.
In a December 15, 2023 notice, the Council asked non-compliant facilities to seek clearance and to put in place the minimum radiation safety measures. Mr Noah Deogratias Luwalira, the chief executive officer and secretary of the AEC, said operators of facilities with expired licences should renew them with immediate effect.
He cited Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, Mityana General Hospital, Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital, Max Dental Clinic Nakasero, Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Rakai Hospital, and Butenga Health Center IV, among other health units that have expired licences.
“The public is requested to report any facility operating radiation generating devices machines without license from the Atomic Energy Council and abandoned radioactive sources,” part of the December notice reads in part.
However, the notice has since attracted mixed reactions from the management of the listed health facilities, saying that it’s hard to own and operate radio-generating devices without clearance from the Atomic Energy Council.
Mr Charles Tumushiime, the Masaka Regional Referral Hospital administrator, said the facility has one functional x-ray machine and it has been licensed by the Council. He wondered why the hospital was listed among institutions that operate unlicensed x–ray machines.
Dr Evelyn Nabunya, the director of Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital when contacted for a comment on the matter referred us to the Council.
“Please inquire from the council, because I have not yet received the said notice claiming that we operate an unlicensed/unauthorised computer tomography x-ray machine as listed on the notice published by the council in newspapers,” she added.
Dr Stephen Kyambadde, the director of Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, also said he was not aware of the notice. He, however, promised to respond after getting a copy of the notice.
Efforts to get a comment from the administrator at Mityana hospital did not yield much, since his known telephone contact was out of reach by press time. According to the Atomic Energy Council, as of December 12, 2023, the country had 317 licensed/ authorised facilities to use radiation sources in the country, while those with expired licences are 104.
Institutions that are not licensed are 51, with many concentrated in the central region. The Council conducts inspections regularly to monitor the use of equipment that generate radiation for the safety of the users at the registered facilities including health units to avoid health-related hazards through exposure.
