A Consultant Radiologist, Dr. Stephen Oguguo, has called for legislation to deal with the menace of quackery in radiodiagnosis practice in the country.
Oguguo, who is the Medical Director of a diagnostic service centre in Lagos, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
The consultant, who decried “growing menace of quacks in radiodiagnosis practice across the country,” said appropriate laws should be introduced to check the trend.
He added that failure to prosecute quacks and stem the trend in the radiodiagnosis profession encouraged the dangerous practice throughout the country.
According to him, legislation is needed to define the requisite training and certification which a person should possess to qualify him or her to run a radiodiagnostic outfit, “which also includes ultrasound and radiographic reporting.
“Inaccurate diagnosis leads to wrong management of patients, which can lead to grave consequences.
“A radiologist is a medical specialist, who, after minimum of six years of undergraduate training, becomes a medical doctor and further undergoes a minimum of six years’ postgraduate training in an accredited institution.
“Three levels of rigorous examinations must have been passed before a radiologist is certified as a specialist to conduct and interpret modalities for body imaging to diagnose accurately or treat ailments of the body,’’ he said.
Oguguo noted that the roles of radiologists were critical in the detection and treatment of ailments, particularly heart-related diseases.
He, therefore, called for increased collaborative efforts between government, individuals and corporate organizations to provide a state-of-the-art radiology equipment, particularly in public tertiary health institutions, for effective emergency care services.
He noted that the computed tomography machine, which was vital in evaluating heart ailments, was not readily available and accessible in most hospitals across the country.
“At least, 64-slice Computed Tomography (CT) scanner is needed for testing the heart effectively. As at today, we have only few of such scanners across the country, both in private or public health institutions.
“There is need for greater Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework to ensure that this capital-intensive service is made available in all our tertiary health facilities across the country.
“This will enable Nigerian radiologists to offer radiodiagnosis services that are comparable to such specialized services anywhere in the world.”
He also emphasized the need for increased awareness about the importance of radiology in medical practice, while boosting the public understanding of the role of radiologists
in healthcare delivery system. (NAN)
