Specification for Management of Radiological Protection System in Medical Institution applied in Jing′an District of Shanghai:radiation protection compared before and after its implementation

ObjectiveTo ascertain the differences of radiological protection management levels in medical institution in Jing′an District of Shanghai after the application of Specification for Management of Radiological Protection System in Medical Institution (hereinafter referred to as Specification), so as to identify potential problems and improve radiological protection management levels.

MethodsA field inspection with radiological protection comprehensive assessment indicators was conducted in 30 medical institutions in Jing′an District.

ResultsBig promotion was found in all the selected medical institutions after the application of Specification, for example, only one unclassified medical institution did not get the licence checked, so the score of this part went up from 86 to 95.Only one unclassified medical institution did not evaluate the occupational hazard after the replacement of X-ray equipment, so the score of this part went up from 82 to 97.The score of radiological health archive management went up from 86 to 95.All of the above improvement had statistical significance(P < 0.05).In addition, the improvement of management in qualification, personal protective equipment, measurement and evaluation and medical exposure protection was significantly different(P < 0.05). The statistical test could not do because of small samples in secondary and tertiary medical institutions.Problems still remained as follows:(1) Radiological protection management staff was neither authorized with written appointment nor specific job assignments.(2) Radiological emergency plan was neither revised timely nor organized annually.(3) Radiological health archive was incomplete.(4) The distribution and usage of personal protective materials and devices lacked standardization.(5) Constance tests were not regularly done according to relative standards.

ConclusionThe application of Specification proves to be a big promotion for radiological protection management levels in selected medical institutions, yet improvement should still be taken into account with the emergence of new things as the establishment of medical imaging center and others in the medical associations.