Nigeria: Nuclear Authority Says Over 60% of X-Ray Machines Obsolete

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), the agency responsible for nuclear safety and radiological protection regulation in the country, yesterday stated that over 60 per cent of all the x-ray equipment in Nigeria was obsolete.

Director General of the organisation, Dr. Yau Idris, posited that most of the x-ray machines in Nigeria were therefore non-functional and are aged between 10 to 60 years.

Idris spoke in Abuja during a national workshop themed: “Radiation Protection of Patients and the Public Medical Application of Nuclear Technology for Senior Managers of Hospitals, Medical Centres and Launching of the NNRA Safe X-Ray Platform.”

Stressing that even the equipment that are functional are operated under sub- optimal conditions, the DG explained that inadequate number of qualified professionals for medical purpose in the country, also remains a major challenge.

“Several investigations by NNRA show that there is an alarming high number of over 60 of different brands of x-ray equipment in the country, with six brand responsible for 70 per cent of all x-ray machines.

“Most of the x-ray equipment in the country are obsolete: Their ages range from 10 to 60 years. And these equipment are operated under sub-optimal conditions,” he lamented.

According to him, even the second-hand x-ray equipment are imported into the country without a view of the age and the availability of the spare parts. According to him , there’s also a high level of disrepair of the facilities.

“Investigation also shows high level of disrepairs. Over 60 per cent of x-ray machines in the country are not functioning,” he posited, adding that there is also inadequate number of application of iodising radiation service providers.

This, he said, has culminated in poor personnel radiation monitoring in all radio-diagnostic centres, with the number of reported cases of radiological incidents and accidents in Nigerian hospitals being on the rise.

According to him, radiological nuclear medicines in Nigerian hospitals are underfunded.

” In fact they have reported two cases of radiation incidents involving radiation workers in a tertiary institution in the country. One personnel died and the other remains critical,” he noted.

Idris added that there have also been reported cases of maladministration radiation in one of the radiological facilities in the country, insisting that “These unfolding events require the enforcement of regulatory requirements for better radio-diagnostic and radiotherapy practice in the country.”

He added that plans were underway to approach about six manufacturers of the x-ray machines to establish their service centres in Nigeria, explaining that bad cases mostly happen in public hospitals where half of the machines are not working.

Idris noted that government bureaucracy delays the implementation of repair of such faulty machines, insisting that more manpower was needed to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.

He stated that the essence of the workshop was to sensitise attendees on the need to ensure safety measures in the use of ionising radiation as well as bring together senior managers to talk about the administration of the application.

Also speaking, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, said medical practices involving the use of ionising radiation remain the largest contributor to human exposure from man-made sources of radiation.

Sylva, who was represented by the Director, Human Resources Management at the ministry, Dr. Famous Eseduwo, stated that there was the need to enforce the rules.

“Today in Nigeria, about 50 million diagnostic x-ray examinations are being carried out and about 3,000 radiation therapy patients treated annually.

“In fact, nearly everyone in our urban areas shall undergo exposure to x-ray for medical diagnostic purpose in his or her lifetime.

“Therefore, it is important radiation safety standards are adhered to in order to optimise doses to the patients, workers and the public,” he advised.

According to him, in the health sector, the agency is the only regulatory body saddled with the responsibility of regulating and licensing activities and facilities such as radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and x-ray.

In his comments, the Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, who was represented by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, said that the increasing incidences of various conditions that require x-ray service have made it imperative for the federal government and other stakeholders to upgrade existing service delivery points.

The minister noted that in some cases, the government has had to build new x-ray radiation dependent facilities to address the challenge, noting that the workshop could not have come at a better time.

“The federal ministry of health is pleased to be part of the discussion around policy directions to address some of the undesired effects of diagnostic and treatment services of various health conditions.

“This informed the decision of the ministry to develop a national policy on chemotherapy safety, which was launched during the 2021 International Cancer Week in October 2021,” she said.

By  This Day.