A senior MRI radiographer from the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton will be heading to Malawi in Africa this month to volunteer with international charity RAD-AID.
Dorothy Gemmell, known to her colleagues as Dot, will travel to Lilongwe in Malawi and will be joined there by RAD-AID workers from the USA. Dorothy applied for the two-week placement after spotting an article in Synergy News.
“The Rad-Aid placement is an opportunity to volunteer as a clinical radiographer in a less developed country,” explains Dorothy.
"I love to travel and learn about different cultures and lifestyles, and have volunteered in the past.
"I’ve built houses in Borneo with Habitat for Humanity, and worked with Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.”
Malawi is among one of the world’s least developed nations. The country has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. There is also a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and a very high degree of risk for major infectious diseases.
Once in Kumuza Hospital in Lilongwe, Dorothy’s role will be mainly to provide clinical support to the local team.
The hospital has a 64-slice CT scanner on site and Dorothy says that as a cross-sectional radiographer with 15 years’ experience and a postgraduate diploma in CT, she will be able to help by lending her skills and knowledge.
Dorothy will also be taking a donation of text books which has been organised by the SCoR. The books were kindly donated by the World Radiography Education and Training Fund (WRETF). Click here for more about WRETF.
The books will be used by student radiographers and will be held in the hospital library.
Dorothy adds: “The SCoR will be funding my trip out to Malawi and have been extremely supportive throughout the application and organisation. A special thank you goes to Sean Henderson-Kelly, membership and PR manager, for all his help.”