At Fresenius Medical Care, we enjoy celebrating our employees, who strive to deliver our core mission of providing the best possible care to patients, and who demonstrate our key values: collaborative, proactive, reliable, and excellent. One such employee who we want to highlight today, has been working in dialysis for over 45 years, and with Fresenius Medical Care since 1979.
Dave Leong is one of our System Technicians. He has the crucial job of travelling across the country and servicing our dialysis machines, both in clinics and for patients who dialyse at home. Dave started his career with DYLADE in 1977; when Fresenius Medical Care took over DYLADE, he became part of our team. Over four decades later, Dave is still a valued Fresenius Medical Care employee.
When asked what has kept Dave at Fresenius Medical Care for so long, his simple answer was the patients. “I find looking after patients so rewarding. For me, it’s important to make sure they get their dialysis when they need it – that’s the joy of the job. It’s a no brainer – they need dialysis to live. Particularly home dialysis patients who don’t necessarily have a spare machine at home – I help them to have the freedom they’re after.”
Another thing that Dave enjoys about his work is that each day is different and you’re always meeting new people. He explained, “One of the best things about my work is the people, both patients and employees – I’ve always had a great team to work with. I also enjoy the freedom of the job.”
Dave also had high praise for Fresenius Medical Care’s equipment. “We’re always developing new equipment and launching new models – I get to go to Germany for training, which is always interesting and exciting. I like to troubleshoot things and enjoy the challenge of figuring out new equipment, and understanding how it works, and how you’d fix it if it broke.”
Something that Dave has learnt along the way is that it’s important to have a good work ethic and willingness to learn. He also encouraged employees to embrace change – “there’s been an awful lot of that over the last 45 years!” He went on the explain how he has witnessed Fresenius Medical Care’s business growth during his time with us. “The company has definitely grown. In the early days, we didn’t have NephroCare clinics, and the home patient programme was in its infancy. It’s much bigger now – the home dialysis plan and the increased number of clinics helps give patients more freedom than ever.”
Dave is just one of the many Fresenius Medical Care UK & Ireland employees who we are proud to have in our team. We take this opportunity to recognise and celebrate his 43 years of service and his dedication to providing our patients the best care possible. Thank you, Dave!