Hospitals asked to check radiology devices
Hospitals asked to check radiology devices
JAKARTA (JP): The Nuclear Energy Control Agency (Bapeten)
asked hospitals on Friday to service and organize their equipment
used in nuclear medicine treatments following a number of
incidents in the country.
"We will start organizing and checking on hospitals in Jakarta
as well as hospitals outside of Java. There are a total of 25
hospitals in the country already equipped with nuclear medicine-
related devices," agency director M. Ridwan told The Jakarta
Post.
"A lack of knowledge among medical technicians operating these
devices and poor maintenance had led to accidents in treating
patients."
Ridwan cited a case in May 1998 when a breast cancer patient
died following Linear Accelerator therapy.
"She was supposed to receive radiation for five to nine
minutes, but she received too much and the radiation affected
other cells in her body. The patient died due to excess therapy,"
he said, declining to name the hospital where the treatment took
place.
In February of this year, an accident occurred when a patient
with cancer of the reproductive system was receiving
brachytherapy and suffered from complications, Ridwan said.
"Fortunately, they were able to save her and the damage was
checked. It turned out later that the (medical) device was
outdated," he said.
The agency and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
signed an agreement last week on the supervision of medical
equipment used in nuclear medicine treatments.
"Hopefully, by the end of this year we will have checked the
25 hospitals in 13 cities (with this equipment)," Ridwan said.
The hospitals are located in Jakarta; Bandung in West Java;
Semarang and Surakarta in Central Java; Yogyakarta, Surabaya and
Malang in East Java; Medan in North Sumatra; Padang in West
Sumatra; Palembang in South Sumatra; Makassar in South Sulawesi;
Manado in North Sulawesi; and Denpasar in Bali.
Stern action was promised against those hospitals found not
properly maintaining and using the equipment.
Those found negligent will be charged under Article 43 of Law
No. 10/1997 on nuclear energy, which carries a maximum sentence
of two years in jail or a Rp 100 million fine, Ridwan said.
He cited Persahabatan Hospital in Rawamangun, East Jakarta,
which once was found to be performing brachytherapy without a
proper permit.
"Now they are going through the process of securing a permit
to perform the therapy," he said.
Also, some nuclear medicine-related devices are calibrated
every four years, when ideally they should be checked at least
once a year, he said. He added that calibrating the equipment was
relatively inexpensive, costing Rp 250,000 ($US28.70) per point.
Among the hospitals regarded as having the safest and best
maintained equipment for nuclear medicine treatments and
radiology therapy are Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Pertamina
Hospital, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) and Gatot
Subroto Army Hospital, all in Jakarta.
This year, radiation therapy has helped save the lives of some
500,000 cancer patients in the country, Ridwan said.
"Medical technicians also have to upgrade their skills. It is
a shame if we purchase a device and do not know how to operate it
properly. Doctors also have to be honest with their patients
about the radiation therapy and its side effects," he said.
According to the agency, the latest data shows Costa Rica and
Spain are ranked as the countries with the highest number of
fatalities as a result of radiation therapy.
"At least 13 people have died in Costa Rica and 11 in Spain.
"In Indonesia, most of the cases are not reported because
people are still ignorant or afraid to come forward. The cases
are usually settled between doctors and patients," Ridwan said.
The head of finance at RSCM, Ihramsyah, said his hospital
conducted regular checks of its nuclear medicine-related devices.
"We do not want to risk the lives of people, do we." (edt)