International Conference on Occupational Radiation Protection: Strengthening Radiation Protection of Workers – Twenty Years of Progress and the Way Forward

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STANDARD MANUAL OF RADIATION PROTECTION PROGRAMMES (RPP) FOR HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN MALAYSIA: REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE

Not scheduled

1h 30m

Geneva

Poster 4. Occupational radiation protection in medicine Session 8. Occupational radiation protection in medicine

Speaker

syarul iman SAUFI (MINISTRY OF HEALTH)

Description

BACKGROUND

In Malaysia, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304) is the main act that aims to ensure the usage of ionizing radiation is in a safe manner without compromising the safety of the worker, patient, and members of the public. In the year 2017, the Malaysian Ministry of Health has formulated and published the standard document of the Radiation Protection Program (RPP) dedicated to the health institutions in Malaysia. As stated in regulation number 15 (4) of Atomic Energy Licensing (Basic Safety Radiation Protection) Regulations 2010, The licensee shall establish and maintain a radiation protection programmed and safety procedure, including emergency plans to ensure the protection of the health of workers and members of the public and to minimize the danger to life, property and the environment.

The paper aimed to describe the commitment of the government of Malaysia, particularly the Ministry of Health (MOH) and its institution such as hospitals to initiate and developed the standardized manual aimed to be used for every health institution authorized by the regulatory body.

METHODS

The Malaysian MOH has developed the document based on the needs of the latest requirements under the Atomic Energy Licensing (Basic Safety Radiation Protection) Regulations 2010. These are the subsidiary regulations under Act 304. The scope was in accordance with current requirements set by the Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3. The document was designed through the special working group formed under the Medical Radiation Surveillance Division (MRSD) of the Ministry of Health.

RESULTS

Health institutions through their licensee which was authorized by the Licensing Section of the Medical Radiation Surveillance Division shall fulfill the requirements under the sub-regulation 15(4) of the subsidiary regulation under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984. These standard guidelines apply to all of the following services; radiology (diagnostic & interventional, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, dental, veterinary, blood irradiator, and medical research in Malaysia. The basic elements of the document were the radiation protection committee, radiation protection officer, radiation protection manuals, and radiation safety and protection’s in-house audit.

The manual become one of the standard criteria for the license application for health institutions in Malaysia. The manual consists of the following elements as per Table 1.

Table 1: The standard manual has been developed

CONCLUSIONS

The standardized Radiation Protection Programmed (RPP) document developed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and its institution is a very important tool as a reference to ensure the safety of the staff and the members of the public from the harmful effect of the ionizing radiation. Whilst, to protect members of the public and to minimize the danger to life, property, and the environment, the RPP took into consideration the management of radioactive material used in healthcare facilities.

In order to improve the quality of services provided by public and private medical institutions, the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) is always working to produce clear, transparent, and current guidelines/circulars from time to time.