The majority of radiologists in the country face serious difficulties due to the lack of radiological protection and safety conditions, at a time when technological advances are making their impact, according to data from the National Association of Radiation Sciences and Technologies of Angola (ANCTRA)
The revelation was made on the sidelines of the II Congress of this organization, which recently brought together 148 radiology specialists in Cabinda to analyze the problems affecting the class, especially those related to the radiological protection and safety of its professionals. “We found radiology services working without monitoring, that is, the lack of important instruments to assess the extent to which the professional absolved a certain amount of radiation so that, from there, clinical and administrative measures can be taken”, said Silvestre Domingos, event spokesperson.
The radiologist explained that the problems discussed two years ago, at the first congress, held in Benguela, remain the same and can be summarized, above all, in the lack of working conditions. “Radiology professionals work with radiation, an evasive agent that causes damage to the human body, and, to do so, we must carry out our activity under conditions of radiological protection and safety”, he argued.
Pedro Silvano, representative of ANCTRA in Cabinda, who did the honors of the house, stated that the sector is struggling with several problems that have to do with the protection and safety of professionals, the population and the environment. This, he added, has caused many radiology technicians to incur biological effects from radiation, to such an extent that many of them have problems with infertility, tumors and various cancers.
“At a time when we are talking about the humanization of health services, it is important to highlight that radiology professionals, even with insufficient equipment and radioprotection measures, still accept putting their lives at risk to save the lives of other people” , said Pedro Silvano.
Working hours and the biological effects of radiation On the other hand, the event’s spokesperson, Silvestre Domingos, addressed the need for more technicians in the area in order to reduce the working hours of professionals who are related to the biological effects produced by radiation.
“We need to have more technicians working, which is why we have been appealing to legal entities so that, in the next public tenders, they think about admitting more professionals to allow staff rotation so that they are further away from the effects of the radiation.” The president of the National Association of Radiation Sciences and Technologies of Angola, ANCTRA, Sérgio Zua, was concerned about the difficulties presented by current radiology technicians in handling equipment with very advanced technology.
“The technology has been the latest generation, but the average age of our staff is around 50 and 55 years old and this technology is very advanced”, he explained, adding that there is a generation of new radiology graduates capable of work in the area, but who are unable to enter through public competitions. “These are young people who have great command of current technologies, and, unfortunately, in our area they never tell us the entry fee. In the last public tender we only received 90 technicians, an insufficient number for the needs of the sector.”
He lamented the fact that professionals with many years of experience are transferred to new hospitals that are being opened, thus mutilating the pool of staff in existing hospitals. “We cannot continue to see the removal of staff from hospital units to make up for the deficit in new hospitals. This is a very serious problem.”
It should be noted that the event, which took place in Cabinda for three days, under the motto “Radiologists united for the appreciation and recognition of the class”, was attended by 70 specialists from Cabinda and 78 from other provinces of the country. Topics related to the responsibility of radiologists, ethics and professional deontology, examinations, protection, modern methods and techniques used in health units for the greatest and best response to users’ needs were discussed.
Government calls for investment in specialized training
The governor of Cabinda, Mara Quiosa, who opened the event, considered that the congress serves to increase the knowledge of technicians who work in the sector, both in the public and private spheres, whose learning we hope can be administered through greater mastery of increasingly modern technological processes and innovations, resulting in gains in service and assistance to the population.
Mara Quiosa appealed to specialized training institutions, namely higher technical schools and hospitals, to reinforce the training of radiologists, however, they should invest in quality and bring together synergies with similar organizations, as well as interact with the Order of Doctors from Angola to fill the shortage of radiology specialists.
“This need for reinforcement and organization of the sector is due to the fact that radiology continues to be at the forefront of rapid technological advances for diagnosing diseases and injuries, adding numerous benefits to medicine, being used to visually guide the treatment of heart diseases and strokes. , as well as to track diseases such as breast cancer with early diagnosis and consequently reduce the mortality rate”, concluded Mara Quiosa.
