HEALTH authorities are launching a month-long probe to check whether medical staff provide protective clothing to patients during X-rays.
The wide-ranging examination follows new regulations on radiation diagnosis and treatment management issued by the Ministry of Health in March last year.
The city has conducted education and training on the new regulations, and the checks will test how hospitals operate under the rules, officials said yesterday.
"There were requirements for doctors to give patients protective apparel to control radiation exposure, although many facilities didn't follow it strictly. It is the first time that the ministry issued a special regulation on the aspect," said Zhao Zili, an official at Minhang District Health Supervision Agency. "We found some violators after we launched checks soon after the regulation was made."
He said the agency would give warnings and education for first-time breaches, and would impose fines if it detected repeat violations.
Hospitals can be fined up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,282), while there is no penalty to doctors.
X-rays can harm cells and induce certain cancerous changes, officials said, with the thyroid gland and sex glands being most sensitive. Doctors should pay extra attention while X-raying children, pregnant woman and people with fertility problems, the rules say.
Protective clothing is lead-lined and should shield reproductive organs and the throat. "Doctors should require patients to wear protective clothing while undergoing an X-ray," Zhao said.
Though the regulation was issued more than a year ago, not all hospitals follow it strictly.
Doctors from Shanghai Tumor Hospital said they require every patient to wear the apparel before X-ray checks, while hospitals like Huashan and Ruijin reached by Shanghai Daily yesterday said they had exposure suits, which patients can choose to wear it or not.
Officials from Huangpu District Health Supervision Agency said it is also difficult to check the use of protective apparel.
"Sometimes, we just check whether hospitals have exposure apparel instead," said Zhong Jie from the Huangpu agency.