Blood bike

A blood bike operated by Freewheelers EVS

A blood bike is a motorcycle used to courier urgent and emergency medical items including blood, X-rays, samples, drugs, and documentation between hospitals and other healthcare facilities.[1][2]

In the United Kingdom and Ireland a network of largely independent registered charities, whose members are all unpaid volunteers, provide blood bike courier services in collaboration with their local healthcare authorities. Many are represented through the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB).[3][4]

Commercial blood bike courier services also exist.[5]

History

The first blood bike volunteer group to be established was the Emergency Volunteer Service (EVS), formed in 1962 in Surrey, England, by Margaret Ryerson and her husband. In 1969 the Freewheelers youth community action group formed in Stevenage which initially served hospitals in Stevenage, Luton, Dunstable, Bedford and Hitchin.[6] These original groups are no longer operating, but other groups emerged that provide similar services.

Yeovil Freewheelers was founded by Cecil Turner in 1978.[7] In 1981, SERV (which formed shortly after the original EVS disbanded) and the North East Thames Region Emergency Voluntary Service (also known as the EVS) in North East London, were founded. North East Thames Region EVS disbanded in November 1998 but SERV continues to operate as a number of different groups.

In 2010, one group made deliveries at a cost of around £25,000, paid for by charitable donations, which according to NABB saved the NHS over £120,000.[6] There are no exact figures for how much blood bikes save the NHS annually, however NABB estimates that it was approximately £1.4m in 2016.[8]

Several groups have received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service:

Current groups

In 2016 there were more than thirty local groups operating in the UK and Ireland.[12] These include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Top award for volunteer couriers". BBC News. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  2. ↑ LV partners with Adrian Flux on blood bikes scheme
  3. ↑ Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (UK)
  4. ↑ Riders deliver vital supplies
  5. ↑ Blood couriers launch case challenging self-employed status
  6. 1 2 Blood bikers: The volunteer motorcyclists who help the NHS
  7. ↑ Yeovil Freewheelers
  8. ↑ The volunteer blood bikers saving lives, NHS time and money
  9. ↑ Top award for volunteer couriers
  10. ↑ Blood Bikes group given Queen’s Award for voluntary service
  11. 1 2 It’s Volunteers Week – by Royal Ascent
  12. ↑ Volunteer Bikers Save Lives by Delivering Blood in Dead of Night
  13. ↑ Lions donated cash to Blood Bikes
  14. ↑ Quick deliveries from The Severn Freewheelers
  15. ↑ "Yorkshire Air Ambulances to carry blood on board". Minster FM. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
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