Hans Frederik Dydensborg met the local medical engineer, Saimir Kondi, on a control visit to Albania in February 2020 and hired him on the spot. Saimir's task was to manage GMA's stored medical equipment, and that task has now been completed to perfection.

From defective to perfect

When donated equipment has to be transported from a hospital to GMA's warehouse in Skibby (DK), it is often necessary to disassemble it. Since the specially trained staff does not accompany the machine, it can subsequently be difficult to assemble things correctly before the equipment must be put into use again – especially if the parts have been moved around the warehouse over a period of time. As a result, over time, an accumulation of more or less defective machines had arisen at GMA. Hans Frederik Dydensborg therefore got a good idea when, in connection with some donations, he made the acquaintance of Saimir Kondi, a medical engineer from Albania with extensive experience in collecting, testing and repairing used hospital equipment. Saimir was hired for 10 days to go through the warehouse and prepare as many machines as possible, and when he returned home on March 3 2022, the warehouse was unrecognizable. All equipment was reviewed, repaired, numbered and registered on a list – ready to be shipped to new users.

High education - low salary

Saimir started studying Electronics at Tirana University in 2005 and subsequently took a Master's in Biomedical Engineering. From 2008-21 he worked at an American hospital in Tirana, but switched in 2021 to the local Continental hospital, which in the same year was offered a donation of equipment from GMA. In this connection, Saimir visited the warehouse in Skibby in October 2021 to check the equipment, which was delivered to Albania later that month.

"There is a lot of different used and discarded equipment in DK, which can be useful in hospitals in Albania, Macedonia and the entire Balkans that lack the necessary equipment", says Saimir. "It is fine equipment in good condition - often very little worn and in some cases not used at all. The equipment just needs to be assembled correctly, and if necessary, I clean, repair and calibrate it, and test again.”

When Hans Frederik Dydensborg carried out the inspection visit to Albania in February 2022, Saimir, who had in the meantime established himself as a freelancer, had helped arrange meetings with the hospitals and the Ministry of Health. It was in this connection that he entered into the contract with GMA. "The agreement was a huge advantage for both parties", says Hans Frederik Dydensborg. ”Saimir got a significantly higher daily wage than he was used to, and GMA got a large and complicated job done for a very reasonable amount. The warehouse and equipment are now in perfect condition.”

Close collaboration with Sønderborg Hospital

During the stay, Saimir visited, among other things Sønderborg Hospital. Here, the Ear-Nose-Throat department's IT consultant Martin Mørk had taken the initiative to contact GMA to donate a used ABR Eclipse from Interacoustics to a value of approx. DKK 250,000. Such one is used to test hearing on children and others where a regular hearing test (brainstem audiometry) cannot be carried out. It is a very useful instrument, of which there are perhaps only one or two in Albania already, and probably none at all in public hospitals. In addition, Saimir brought a lot of discarded and discontinued hearing aids with him.

And he was very happy with the reception: "All the people I have met in Denmark have been very friendly and helpful. I worked a whole day at the hospital in Sønderborg, and here they treated me as if I had been a member of the team for many years. They helped me with information about the equipment, and subsequently I have been able to draw on them in connection with specific tasks, for example getting an Ultrasound GE Vivid 3 set up on Windows 2000 to run.

I would like to say thank you to the Danish hospitals, which help our people so much, and especially to Mr. Hans. It is a great honor for me to work with GMA, and Mr. Hans is doing a fantastic job with the many donations to Albania.”