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Blood bike

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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]

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

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Two mid-2000s BMW motorcycles operated by SERV.
Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes exhibition stand
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

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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

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Blood bike charities in England include:

Scotland

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Wales

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Ireland

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Australia

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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

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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 group ref.
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

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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

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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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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Top award for volunteer couriers". News.BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Blood bikers: The volunteer motorcyclists who help the NHS". BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Axling, Ada (2 August 2017). "LV partners with Adrian Flux on blood bikes scheme - Insurance Age". InsuranceAge.co.uk. Infopro Digital Insurance Information Limited. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes". BloodBikes.org.uk. The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes. n.d. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Charity Commission for England and Wales. n.d. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b Millard, Lucy (23 September 2017). "Riders deliver vital supplies". NewarkAdvertiser.co.uk. Newark Advertiser. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  7. ^ Butler, Sarah; Goodley, Simon (7 March 2017). "Medical couriers launch case challenging self-employed status". TheGuardian.com. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Yeovil Freewheelers". Yeovil-Freewheelers.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Who we are". BloodBikes.org.uk. The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  10. ^ "The volunteer blood bikers saving lives, NHS time and money". TheGuardian.com. The Guardian. 30 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Budget 2018" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom.
  12. ^ "'You helped me' note left on Blood Bike at Tesco in Carmarthen". BBC.co.uk. BBC News Wales.
  13. ^ Moffatt, Andy (26 April 2023). "Russell Curwen: blood bike courier unknowingly used blue lights and siren illegally when he died after hitting car while going through red light". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Charity that provided free blood service to NHS is replaced by private firm in £14,000,000 deal". Metro.co.uk. Metro. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Volunteer bikers save lives by delivering blood in dead of night". nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Lions donated cash to Blood Bikes". NorthSomersetTimes.co.uk. North Somerset Times. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Manchester Blood Bikes". St Andrews House Medical Centre. October 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Blood Bikes Manchester". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Quick deliveries from the Severn Freewheelers". HerefordTimes.com. Hereford Times.
  20. ^ "Yorkshire Air Ambulances to carry blood on board". MinsterFM.com. Minster FM. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  21. ^ "ScotSERVS". ScotSERVS.com.
  22. ^ "Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes handed £8,500 towards running costs by Scotmid Co-operative". DailyRecord.co.uk. Daily Record. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Blood Bikes Wales was awarded the Organisation of the Year Award at WCVA Welsh Charities Awards". WCVA.cymru. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  24. ^ "DVLA unveils Blood Bikes Wales as their Charity of Choice". GOV.UK. Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Blood Bike Leinster". BloodBikeLeinster.ie.
  26. ^ "A day in the life - Blood Bike Leinster". MAGIreland.org. MAG Ireland. 12 December 2013.
  27. ^ "Blood Bikers are a vital link in transporting Blood". EmergencyTimes.com. Emergency Times.
  28. ^ "Uniroyal Ireland has been named as the support vehicle tyre partner for Blood Bike Leinster". TyreTrade.ie. Tyre Trade Ireland.
  29. ^ "Blood Bike Leinster featured on RTE Winning Streak". Plus.Google.com. Google Plus.
  30. ^ "Blood Bikes group given Queen's Award for voluntary service". LEP.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  31. ^ a b "It's Volunteers Week – by Royal Ascent". BloodBikes.org.uk. The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  32. ^ "Queen's honour for Shropshire blood bikers - delivering life in the fast lane". ShropshireStar.com. Shropshire Star. 11 June 2018.
  33. ^ "The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service SERV Suffolk & Cambridgeshire". SERVSC.org.uk. SERV Suffolk & Cambridgeshire.
  34. ^ "SERV Surrey & London". SERVSL.org.uk. SERV Surrey & London. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  35. ^ "SERV Kent Bloodrunners". SERVKent.co.uk. SERV Kent. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  36. ^ "View 2021 Queen's Award for Voluntary Service awardees list" (PDF). The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The Cabinet Office. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  37. ^ "Blood bikers recognised for hard work as Wrexham team receives new vehicle". The Leader. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  38. ^ "Blood Bike Awareness Day". AwarenessDay.co.uk.
  39. ^ "NABB 2016 newsletter" (PDF). BloodBikes.org.uk. The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes.
  40. ^ "Reported Road Casualties 2017" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom. p. 8.
  41. ^ "Tributes to Bloodrun volunteer". TheNorthernEcho.co.uk. The Northern Echo.
  42. ^ "Volunteer Blood Biker killed in Lancaster collision". TheGuardian.com. The Guardian. 7 May 2018.
  43. ^ "Hospital lab to be named after biker who died delivering blood". ITV.com. ITV News. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  44. ^ Pye, Daniel (25 April 2023). "Russell Curwen unknowingly used blue lights illegally when he died". Westmoreland Gazette. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
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