Blood bike

Last updated

Two BMW R1200RT blood bikes in Ireland, 2013. Bloodbikemidlands.jpg
Two BMW R1200RT blood bikes in Ireland, 2013.

A blood bike is a specialist motorcycle modified for use as a courier vehicle for the prompt transportation of urgent and emergency medical items; primarily including blood, and also including X-rays, tissue samples, surgical tools, human milk, spinal fluids, drugs, and documentation; between hospitals and other healthcare facilities. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

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), itself a registered charity (number 1198195). [4] [5] [6] NABB requires that its members hold advanced rider qualifications. [2] [6]

Commercially-run blood bike courier services also exist. [7]

History

Two mid-2000s BMW motorcycles operated by SERV. ServBloodbike.JPG
Two mid-2000s BMW motorcycles operated by SERV.
Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes exhibition stand Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes.jpg
Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes exhibition stand
Close-up of 'BLOOD' identification and battenburg markings Bloodbikeeast,bloodbikewest.JPG
Close-up of 'BLOOD' identification and battenburg markings

The first blood bike volunteer group to be established in the United Kingdom was the Emergency Volunteer Service (EVS), formed in 1962 in Surrey, England, by Margaret Ryerson and her husband. [2] In 1969, the Freewheelers youth community action group formed in Stevenage which initially served hospitals in Stevenage, Luton, Dunstable, Bedford, and Hitchin. [2] These original groups are no longer operating, but other groups emerged that provide similar services.

Yeovil Freewheelers was founded in 1978. [8] In 1981, SERV (Service by Emergency Response Volunteers), [2] 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.[ citation needed ]

The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes was established in 2008 to promote professional standards across all the member blood bike groups. [9]

As an example of the scale of their operations, in 2010, one group made 2,500 deliveries at a cost of around £25,000, paid for by charitable donations, which according to NABB saved the NHS over £120,000. [2] There are no exact figures for how much blood bikes save the NHS annually, however NABB estimates that it was approximately £1.4 million in 2016 from its 56,000 blood bike journeys. [3] [10]

In the August 2018 Budget, the government introduced Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) exemption for blood bikes vehicles, effective from April 2020, "to align the tax treatment of the transportation of blood and medical supplies by the national charity Blood Bikes with other emergency vehicles". [11] [12] However, blood bikes cannot use blue lights and sirens, unlike the three statutory emergency services as NABB's application to use them has been rejected. [13]

In 2019, Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes, which started in 2012, was told that University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust was dispensing with its services, and would be replaced by a commercial contract with QE Facilities, a subsidiary company of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust. [14]

Blood bike groups

Blood Bike Leinster close-up view showing its logo and motto: 'riding to save lives'. Blood Bike Meath east.jpg
Blood Bike Leinster close-up view showing its logo and motto: 'riding to save lives'.

There are a number of blood bike groups operating in the UK and Ireland. [15] These include:

England

Scotland

Wales

Ireland

Australia

Inspired by the UK model, Blood Bikes Australia was founded in Brisbane, Queensland, in September 2019, with a run by Peter Davis for the Mater Hospital. Since then, the number of qualified volunteers has risen rapidly across the country.

Awards

Several groups in the United Kingdom have received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which is equivalent in status as an MBE: [1]

year of
award
blood bike groupref.
2008 Freewheelers EVS [1]
2016 North West Blood Bikes Lancashire & Lakes [30]
2017 Northumbria Blood Bikes [31]
2017 SERV Sussex [31]
2018 Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes [32]
2019 SERV Suffolk & Cambridgeshire [33]
2020 SERV Surrey and London [34]
2020 SERV Kent [35]
2021 Blood Bikes Wales [36] [37]

Blood Bike Awareness Day

The first Blood Bike Awareness Day took place on Friday 14 August 2015, [38] with initial support provided by O2 and has continued annually since. It is to be held on the Friday closest to 14 August. Reasons for this include it being the mirror to 14 February and St Valentine's day with its association with the heart and thus blood, being summer the news cycle is often devoid of political stories and there is a greater propensity for journalists to fill airtime with such awareness days also compounded by Fridays being shown even more inclined to cover such local news topics. [39]

Incidents

Motorcyclists are classified as vulnerable road users, as when the casualty and fatality numbers are adjusted to passenger miles covered, it is the most dangerous form of transport when compared to walking, cycling, and various four wheeled motor vehicles. [40] Two blood bike riders have been involved in fatal accidents:

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood Bikes Wales</span>

Blood Bikes Wales is a blood bike charity based in Wales. Founded in 2011, it provides a free motorcycle courier service to NHS Wales hospitals across the country, operating a fleet of motorcycles which are ridden and co-ordinated by volunteers. Blood Bikes Wales is a member of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) and co-operates with similar organisations in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Manchester Blood Bikes</span> English blood bike charity

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References

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