Page 360 - ANUAL REPORT MOH 2017

WAY FORWARD
The prominent roles and responsibilities of engineers in the Engineering Services Division together with
the medical teams, scientists and expertise in realizing the vision of the Ministry of Health, are pivotal to
the healthcare service provisions. There is a need for a continuously long-term apprenticeships for the
personnel to improve and upgrade their knowledge, skills and competencies in accordance to global
standards and practices. An efficient and effective delivery and processing system for information and
services is obligatory in order the Division to fully optimised available infrastructure, equipment and
technology in its daily work processes.

As a major provider of Engineering and Technical Services to the Medical and Health Programs of
the Ministry of Health, the Engineering Service Division will continue to plan, implement, monitor and
coordinate preventive health programs through the application of public health engineering principles
and methods. The Division is committed to provide engineering support for the effective and proper
functioning of buildings, equipment and engineering systems, ensure reliability and efficiency of
engineering installations and ensure all healthcare facilities are well maintained in appropriate standard.

MEDICAL RADIATION SURVEILLANCE DIVISION (MRSD)

The Medical Radiation Surveillance Division (MRSD) previously known as Radiation Safety Section,
Engineering Services Division was established in 2016 as a new division under Research & Technical
Support Program in MoH. MRSD is responsible for regulating the use of ionizing radiation in medicine
under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act (Act 304). This regulatory activity consists of three (3) main
activities: licensing, monitoring and enforcement.

MRSD also plays a role in providing medical physics services, particularly to the hospitals and clinics
under the Ministry of Health (MoH). This activity includes technical advice and the development
of codes and standards. In addition, MRSD also involved in monitoring the implementation of the
Radiation Protection Programme (RPP), Quality Assurance Program (QAP) and Radiation Quality Audit
Management in radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine at the national level.

MRSD is also focused on enhancing programs on radiation safety to ensure that the practices in this
country are in line with the current international standards and requirements. For that purpose, existing
activities are continuously reviewed, and new activities are introduced.

LICENSING UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY LICENSING ACT (ACT 304)

A total of 1,149 licenses were issued to private medical institutions in 2017. This includes 139 new
licenses and 1,010 renewal of license. Overall, there were 4337 licensed or registered premises using
medical radiation sources as shown in Table 20. It consisted of 925 government hospitals/clinics and
3,412 private medical institutions respectively.

There is a total of 8,213 registered or licensed irradiating apparatus in both government and private
sectors. Details of irradiating apparatus according to the type of modality are shown in Table 21.
In addition to irradiating apparatus, radioactive materials are also used in medicine. A total of 998
radioactive sources consisted of 869 sealed sources and 129 unsealed sources were registered or
licensed in government and private medical institutions as shown in Table 22.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH MALAYSIA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 359