Safety measures in selected radiotherapy centres within Africa in the face of Covid-19

Radiotherapy is life-saving treatment which ought to be guaranteed for all cancer patients who are indicated. While this is so, it is incumbent on the management of radiotherapy centres to ensure that patients, patient care-givers and radiotherapy personnel are at all times safe within the radiotherapy facility. Cancer patients are known to have increased risk for respiratory viruses like Covid-19 due to the compromised immune state of such persons. It is thus important to institute adequate safety measures in radiotherapy centres to prevent infection of cancer patients during the global Covid-19 pandemic. A survey conducted in 12 radiotherapy centres in 8 African countries has highlighted key measures needing implementation to ensure safety against Covid-19 infections. The safety measures were indexed on a 16-point questionnaire covering 5 main areas of staffing, radiotherapy environment, equipment and treatment protocols, patient condition and scheduling, and education/sensitization. The study shows that use of personal protective equipment, provision of hand washing and sanitizing facilities, social distance observance, restrictions for patient care-givers, provision of isolation unit meant for holding suspected Covid-19 cases, existence of working protocols, and Covid-19 safety education for staff are fully complied with by the surveyed radiotherapy centres. A greater portion of the centres, are however, without radiotherapy facilities solely dedicated for suspicious and confirmed Covid-19 cases. Strict adherence of the safety measures is highly essential to contain the spread and prevent infection of the disease to patients, care-givers and staff of the radiotherapy departments.