DUBAI // Rules governing the use of radioactive materials in medicine will be streamlined under the watch of the Dubai Health Authority. A memorandum of understanding signed with Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) means the authority will oversee the transportation and use of radiopharmaceutical drugs in hospitals and clinics across the emirate. Previously, health care providers and companies that used the materials for procedures such as radiotherapy, and those who transported them, needed permission from several authorities, including the civil defence. There are 30 such companies in Dubai.
Khaled al Sheikh Mubarak, the chief executive of institutional support services at the DHA, said the transport of radioactive material would be quicker and more efficient under the authority's jurisdiction. "We liaise with health care providers on radiation safety protocols that need to be followed for certain activities, such as transportation of medical radioactive materials," he said. "Now that we directly check and approve protocols followed by health care providers and companies which deal with these materials, the process will be much faster as these parties will have to deal with only one authority when they operate within Dubai."
Dr Jamila al Suwaidi, consultant medical physicist and director of clinical support affairs at the DHA, said: "The Dubai Health Authority is well equipped with qualified professionals and technical resources to ensure an effective implementation of this memorandum of understanding. This will enhance the radiation safety practices." Dr Jamal Ahmed Ibrahim, the director of preventive safety at the DCD, said medical radioactive materials had a short expiration period and must be supplied and disposed of "within a short span of time".
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