He explained that the current deployment of radiation-emitting machines in public and private facilities and being managed by unqualified staff without proper safety procedures and regular checks on the standards of the machines exposes the patients and the unqualified staff to health hazards.

Mr Rockson was speaking at the National Scientific Conference and the Sixth Biennial Congress of the GAR at Koforidua. The theme for the conference was “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Quality Assurance in Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy”.

Mr Rockson called for state support to the various existing institutions for training of Radiographers to produce more professionals to meet the manpower needs of the country. He called on the regulatory agencies to ensure regular monitoring of radiation-emitting health facilities in the country to ensure that the machines being used meet the required standards to help protect patients and the public against exposure to unsafe radiation.

Professor (Prof) Mary Boadu, Director of the Radiological and Medical Science Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission said it is estimated that the use of radiation in medical diagnostic examination is the cause of over 99 per cent of man-made radiation exposure and exposure to radiation has the potential to increase the risk of cancer.

She said the rapidly changing technological advances and complexity of medical radiation technology requires specialized and systematic verification to ensure quality, effectiveness and avoid accidents.

Prof. Boadu called on the government and the regulatory body to ensure that only safe and properly installed radiation-emitting equipment are used in radiation medicine facilities to help protect the public.

She suggested that the regulatory body should ensure each radiation medicine facility have in place a basic quality assurance programme to control the quality of diagnostic images and treatment.

Prof. Boadu observed that meticulous care is required in quality control of radiation-emitting equipment to ensure quality healthcare.