Former UMMC radiology technician Nur Fauzia Abdul Razak (left) and her lawyers Wan Azmir Wan Majid and Sabrina Mohd at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
KUALA LUMPUR: A cancer-stricken former Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) radiology technician has threatened to sue the hospital over alleged SOP breaches in the department if an amicable settlement is not reached.
Lawyer Wan Azmir Wan Majid, representing Nur Fauzia Abdul Razak who is battling stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma, said his client would file a negligence suit or initiate judicial discovery proceedings against UMMC if no discussions are held.
“If there is no meeting held between Fauzia and UMMC, then we have no choice but to litigate this matter.
“Our next action is either to push for a cause of action, filing for negligence straight away, or to go for a discovery action against UMMC,” Wan Azmir told reporters at a press conference.
In April, Fauzia claimed that years after the hospital installed a PET-CT machine, three staff members suffered from cancer, while another four were suffering from thyroid-related diseases.
All seven were attached to the radiology department, she claimed.
UMMC denied the allegations, saying its PET-CT machine was always operated according to strict security procedures, with the level of radiation exposure undercontrol and according to set standards.
The hospital also said staff members who worked with the machine were required to be equipped with personal dosimeters, and official records showed that each person’s level of exposure to radiation was far lower than the gazetted dose.
The health ministry cleared UMMC of allegations of SOP breaches after a probe of the matter.
A coalition of civil society groups comprising Secretariat Reformasi Institusi Pendidikan Tinggi, Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia and Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia is nevertheless urging Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to establish a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the matter.
The coalition wants the RCI to investigate alleged safety non-compliance and the manipulation of personal radiation exposure records at the hospital.
Original source: my