The AGM of IHEEM’s North Western branch this month will see career X-ray technology engineer and branch member Keith Feay discuss during a special presentation how, having repaired his first X-ray machine in 1965, he has recently begun helping charityrun hospitals in Malawi keep such equipment in good running order (pictured right).
Starting his working life as an apprentice at an Oldham electrical contracting company in the late 1950s, Keith Feay, (now a Fellow of IHEEM, and a past branch chairman), had a subsequent two-year spell at the Oldham Royal Infirmary, before spending much of his career as an engineer for X-ray equipment manufacturers. An IHEEM member since 1986, he joined the North Western RHA in 1985 and, after it was sold, set up his own consultancy, DXS Medical Imaging. He is due to retire next month when he plans winding the business up but, with his expertise having been picked up by a Scottish charity which works in Africa, he now has the interesting “retirement” prospect of continuing to help hospitals in Malawi run their X-ray departments by repairing and maintaining their machines. He explained: “When the charity first contacted me I began by offering hospital staff in Malawi advice by phone, e-mail and post, but this didn’t prove practical. Last April I was asked to travel out there and attempt to repair both original X-ray equipment, and some recently installed machines. During a 10-day trip, taking regular advice from colleagues in England, and armed with various bits and pieces I took with me, I managed to repair the machines, many of which were original wet processing systems, so it is as well that my early career saw me taught how to use these. “My wife is a retired radiographer and, beginning soon, she and I plan making further trips to Malawi to do servicing, further repairs and run training courses. “While the medical environment in many is extremely basic, the staff are extremely grateful for my help, everybody has a smile on their face, and I have never heard a single child cry in any of the facilities. However, as an indication of the state of maintenance of some equipment, I asked, on my last trip, for an Allen key to remove a screw, and no one had one. X-ray test equipment is also virtually unheard of.” Since his return last May Keith Feay says he has managed to collect many X-ray items, tools and test equipment, and would be pleased to hear (e-mail: keithfeay@keithfeay.co.uk) from anybody with equipment or tools they don’t need. The North Western branch AGM takes place on 12 February. at 6.00 p.m. for 6.30 p.m. at Pendlebury Children’s Hospital, Manchester. For more details contact Tony Winter: T: 0161 419 5416; e-mail: tony.winter@stockport.nhs.uk
