Chairman:  Cape Chapter

Background professional activities
Dr Kew started his occupational health career with the Anglo-American Corporation, as a Medical Officer on the mining complex, Freegold (approximately eighty thousand employees!) He developed the initial statistical management reporting techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of their mining medical station occupational health services. He developed the database that eventually managed the entire Freegold accident compensation tracking system.

He was instrumental in the pioneering work done on Free Sate Geduld gold mine involving Mine Medical Officers in the International Safety Rating System (ISRS). He was closely involved with the underground emergency Search and Rescue support services. His interest in promotive health led him to research the alcohol consumption habits of mining employees, the findings of which were presented at an international conference in Australia.

Dr Kew moved to Cape Town at the end of 1993 and established a medical practice and an Occupational Health consultancy. The Occupational Health consultancy grew steadily and in July 1995 he left his medical practice and began to consult to industry full time. Dr Kew’s passion is the development of Occupational Health Management Systems. In this capacity, he developed the leading proprietary South African branded system, “Synergee”, widely supported by Occupational Health professionals countrywide.

Current professional activities
Dr Kew’s consulting activities cover all aspects of organisational health, and his extensive client base includes companies in construction, chemical, pharmaceutical manufacture, petrochemicals, engineering, mining & exploration, quarrying, motor industry component manufacturing, services (banking, publishing) and the public sector (local authorities). This comprehensive background enables him to approach problems with the wisdom of experience and a deep understanding of the issues that confront business on a daily basis. Dr Kew is a true “generalist”, conducting occupational health risk assessments, designing & implementing medical surveillance programmes and compiling IT management systems for effective programme tracking and reporting.

His problem-solving skills have been called upon to resolve matters pertaining to indoor air quality, ergonomics, hazardous biological agents and noise-induced hearing loss. Dr Kew also establishes on-site clinics providing occupational health screening programmes, emergency primary care and traditional primary healthcare services. With a health psychologist he has provided benchmark health promotion and corporate health programmes to a wide client base in the greater Cape Town area.

During 2002, Dr Kew teamed up with leading Occupational Medical Practitioners (doctors with the statutory post-graduate training in Occupational Health) in Gauteng and Durban, to establish a national Occupational Medicine Practice, called Global OccNet. This practice has grown steadily, and now has strong links in a number of regions in South Africa, and is establishing offices internationally. Dr Kew is an external consultant to, and part-time lecturer at the Department of Occupational Health at the University of Cape Town’s Medical School. He was awarded the NOSA Occupational Medical Practitioner of the Year trophy during 1999. He has presented papers at International (SA and abroad) and national conferences on a number of topics.

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