Radiology department is used by outpatients, inpatients and emergency cases. Therefore, like the laboratory its sitting should take into consideration ready accessibility from all wards, OPD and casualty department.
Space requirement of the department depends upon number of X-ray machines to be installed, expected number of X-ray per machine for outpatients and inpatients, number of dark rooms required, and whether automatic film- processing unit is to be installed. It is economical to plan one dark room between a pair of X-ray rooms.
It is worthwhile to consider sectioning the department into two sections without physically separating them, one for catering for accident and emergency cases at all hours and for urgent OPD cases, and the other for catering to the needs of inpatients and OPD cases with appointments.
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A proportion of patients to this department will come on wheelchairs and trolleys. Liberal corridor space is needed for patients on trolleys, and a “trolleys waiting area.”
All radiology departments have potential radiation hazards. The design of the radiography rooms and directional placement of X-ray machines in them have to be done to reduce scattered radiation to the minimum. It is advisable to study the regulations laid down by the Atomic Energy Commission or by other regulatory agency.
At present no regulatory agency has a role in certifying the safety of a radiodiagnostic facility and the amount of undesirable radiation that such a facility can unintentionally cause is anybody’s guess.
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Ancillary accommodation includes a room for reception and registration of patients, a storage room protected from stray radiation for storage of (unexposted) radiographic films, a separate room for storage of chemicals and preparation of solutions, and a record room for old radiographic films and records.
There will be the radiologist’s office (one for each radiologist) where films are viewed. There will at least be one mobile X-ray machine in any hospital, and this will require a room to store it.
Barium examinations need a separate set of rooms consisting of barium meal and enema preparation area, room for rectal wash-out, a toilet and WC and a rest room for patients.
One or two spare rooms should be planned in the beginning which can be used as seminar or conference room and as office for the physicist or electronics engineer in large hospitals where expansion of radiology department to take up radiotherapy at a later date is envisaged.