isrrt Newsletter Volume 43. No.2 - 2007

QA Workshop of
Equipment, Maintenance and Repairs
Chandiagarh, India
June 4-7, 2007
Report
Report on ISRRT Workshop on QA of Equipment, Maintenance and Repairs, held in Chandigarh, India, in
cooperation with the Indian Association of Radiological Technologists (IART) and hosted by The Post Graduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research.
A follow-up workbook to the Quality Assurance
Workbook had been written by Mr Ian McClelland
and published by WHO. It was always the intent
to develop a workshop similar to the successful
QA workshop for the subject area of equipment
maintenance and repairs. The design of the
workbook lent itself to self development and
instruction, so it was not difficult to organise an
educational experience with the workbook as its
foundation. We were fortunate to have Mr Ian
McClelland not only help design the workshop but
also be one of its principle instructors on site.
Another major asset was the assistance and
cooperation of our Indian partners, led by Mr
S.C. Bansal, Secretary of the IART and principle
lecturer in the radiography program at PGIMER.
Major thanks must also be given to PGIMER
Director, Prof. K.K. Talwar, Dr Khandelwal and
his staff of the department of Imaging and Radiodiagnosis
for liberal access to lecture rooms and x ray equipment
facilities, a critical element in this workshop.
The main objectives of this workshop were to run
a “hands-on”, practical session for radiographers who
worked in remote regions with poor access to prompt
quality service. The workshop was designed to give
Formal Opening ceremony.
Mr Bansal lighting the lamp of knowledge.
participants tools and skills to test, observe and report
on any problems with equipment and where appropriate,
initiate simple repairs.
Our participants came from several states across Northern
India and represented a cross section of experiences and
working conditions. Most had had little or no training since
their initial education in radiography. Some were working
in WHO established sites with little follow up
or quality assurance mechanisms in place. To
give some idea of their usual work condition,
all but two used wet processing as a component
of their work. There were several staff members
from Chandigarh and also teaching hospitals
in Delhi who attended in order to be able
to offer this workshop elsewhere. This was
encouraged since another important feature in
these workshops is the Train the Trainer aspect
so that all who attend then have the knowledge,
skills and tools to offer the course elsewhere
and at the same standard.
Continued on the next page
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