There are many kinds of radiation around us, natural as well as man-made. While radiations can be useful, it can also be harmful, especially those which are not natural like X-rays and CT scans. Radiations pose threat to the staff, patient and the public.
“There are two types of effects; somatic and genetic. In somatic, the person exposed to radiations gets affected, while in genetic the person doesn’t get affected but is reflected in children or grandchildren. Thus, people should not unnecessarily opt for X-rays, CT scans or any other exposure to man-made radiations,” said Dr. Dechen, Radiologist, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, JDWNRH.
To monitor the exposure of radiation, a radiation survey meter was handed over to Health Ministry by JICA today.
The equipment was handed over by the Resident Co-ordinator of JICA in Bhutan, Tomoki Nitta and Shinya Koike, a medical technologist and JICA volunteer working with the JDWNRH.
While the X-ray rooms in all the hospitals with X-ray facilities are built in accordance with international standard, that is 7 feet high from the floor to ceiling, lead coated and thick walls, there has been no proper device to check whether it is radiation leak proof or not. But, now this will be possible with the radiation survey meter. It will help to confirm whether it is safe or not.
Radiological services started in Bhutan about three decades ago and X-ray facility is available in almost all the 20 Dzongkhags.
