Medical physicists now have a sectoral agreement to help pave their careers

The government and Union Haddiema Maghqudin have signed Malta's first sectoral agreement for medical physicists.

Medical physicists - experts who identify the parameters of radiation doses for patients - were previously not employed on the island, but a number have studied abroad and will now work in Malta's state hospital.

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne told MaltaToday that medical physicists differed from the current radiologists and radiographers employed at Mater Dei Hospital.

“These professionals will not necessarily be doctors—they are experts who specialise in medical radiation, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. They will constantly examine the machinery and measure parameters and doses of radiation for patients who require the therapy,” Fearne said. 

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of or treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers. 

Fearne said that these specialised physicists were educated abroad and funded by European Union grants. 

(Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

“The sectoral agreement determines and gives structure to how they will work, how they will progress in their job and delineates a pathway in the advancement of their career,” he said, adding that the increase of human resources was part of a larger government cancer plan that was in its second year of implementation.

Josef Vella, UHM Chief Executive, highlighted that this new specialised body of workers was very complimentary to the other professions in the medical sector.

“This is the first collective agreement for medical physicists but not the first one in the health sector. I am very satisfied with this document because our hard work culminates here in its signing,” Vella said.

He thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for his “constant interventions to close discussions in a positive manner.”

Nuclear medicine studies have been performed for over 40 years without any known adverse effects. The low doses of radiation used make it a safe and effective diagnostic tool, according to experts. 

Malta will, for the first time, employ experts in the field of radiotherapy to measure safe dosage levels and operate and examine the equipment used.