Why Quackery Thrives in Radiography, by Experts

Experts have given reasons why there are quacks in the radiography profession. This, they said, is traceable to the inability of regulatory agency to function properly as well as shortage of personnel in the medical examination profession.

Speaking in Lagos at the World Radiography Day organised by the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria (ARN), Lagos State Chapter, ARN former President Ayo Okheria said quackery thrives due to shortage of manpower in the medical examination field.

Okheria said: “The manpower issue can be resolved easily – establish more training institutions in the universities and look at how you can increase the inputs – the admission. Of course, the third level I have always said is, if you know that health care is important, and radiographers play a major role in it, you can also take an additional step of encouraging people to go and study this course in the form of scholarships, grants and sponsorships.

The other part of it is the regulation; there’s a body that has been set up to regulate the training and practice of radiography. Empower this body to do its job very well – create more offices, recruit more officers, provide more funds so they can do their job effectively and efficiently.”

Former registrar of Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN) Reuben Babatunde, said radiography is the eye of medicine, adding “without radiography, it would be very difficult to treat anybody without diagnosis. Although radiography is not only about diagnosis, it’s also about treatment, when it comes to cancer.”

According to him, 75 per cent of ailment must be diagnosed before treatment; otherwise the doctor will treat wrongly. Babatunde alleged that some doctors engage in radiography work without having the training.

“When we say quacks in this case, we are talking of people who are doing what they are not certified to do, including doctors. Some people appear as doctors and they are not doctors. Some people are bent on not engaging the correct personnel,” he said.

ARN Lagos State Chapter Acting Chairman Comrade Suleiman Shehu, said the radiography equipment in the country is obsolete. He said CT Scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines can only be found in four or five medical centres in the country. This, he said, is grossly inadequate to service the populace. Shehu, a Principal Radiographer with Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Meta, said radiography as a profession is an endangered specie because “we have people who are not qualified to handle these machines.”