THE man in charge of a vital service at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary is retiring.

Ray Collier, the head of blood transfusions at the hospital, will finish later this month after more than 41 years.

Mr Collier, 60, from Golcar, started as a student laboratory technician in September 1966 when Huddersfield Royal Infirmary opened on its Lindley site.

He recalls: “I was working in the public health laboratory in Leeds when a friend told me about the brand new hospital in Huddersfield opening and that they were recruiting.

“I got a job in pathology and started out doing the mundane jobs such as polishing glass slides and washing bottles.”

He is now Specialist Practitioner of Transfusion at the Trust, ensuring all blood supplies are used appropriately and documented correctly.

He is also responsible for the development and implementation of alternatives to transfusion such as cell salvage techniques.

He said: “In the 70s we had more staff in the laboratory than now yet carried out about a tenth of the tests we do now. Things have changed phenomenally from when it was all hand testing with pipettes burettes and beakers.

“There are new clinical conditions being discovered all the time and the information we can get from tests is amazing. The constant change and technological progress is what I have enjoyed most about the job.”

Mr Collier is married to Christine and they have 34-year-old twins and three grandchildren.

He is chairman and a life member of Slaithwaite and District Angling Club and a member of Longwood Village Group.

He plans to spend time on his hobbies of fishing, painting and local woodland conservation work.

Also retiring from the Infirmary is long-serving nurse Grace Gabriel.

Mrs Gabriel retires this month after 40 years at the hospital.

She joined the hospital in 1968 as a domestic and after 18 months switched to nursing training and is now senior staff nurse, currently on nights, on ward 11.

She said: “Life on the wards has changed a lot in my time. But what stays the same is the team spirit you get when everyone is working together on a ward as we do.

“And along the way you have a good many laughs with your colleagues.”

Mrs Gabriel, 63, from Leeds Road, has three grown-up sons and nine grandsons. She has also worked on Ward 19 (before it was Ward 11) orthopaedics and Ward 5.

She added: “It will be sad to let go, but I think I have always done my best to look after our patients and it is time for others to take over.”