The purpose of the Leicestershire & Rutland Blood Bikes is to provide a free out of hours courier service to our regions NHS. This saves the hospitals from having to use a front-line emergency ambulance or a taxi to fulfil this role. Any funds saved can then be re-directed into NHS front line services.
We transport blood, blood products and medical equipment. In addition to this we also work with the Birmingham Women’s hospital, collecting donated human milk and delivering it to them for processing and distribution to neonatal units for use with premature babies. We also deliver pathology samples to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge, for transplant patients.
Our group is operated 100% by unpaid volunteers, and we operate 365 days a year, with a 12-hour service on weekdays (7pm to 7am), and a 24-hour service at weekends and bank holidays.
The group has been fully operational since 2016, supporting the 3 main Leicester hospitals.
In 2018 we commenced support to the Air Ambulance Service by delivering blood and blood products 6 days a week, from Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry to the Aircraft at East Midlands Airport.
Recently we extended our service to support local community hospitals and some larger GP surgeries, by collecting and delivering blood samples to the Pathology Lab at LRI.
Our aim is to provide a professional service, with all volunteers completing training prior to joining. All riders must hold an advanced riding qualification. We provide liveried motorbikes and vans for the group’s use, and we are 100% self-funded, through public donations, private individuals and corporate partnerships.
Securing funds through donations is the lifeblood of our group, and without this, we would be unable to continue to provide our free service to the NHS. Donations are used to cover running costs such as fuel, maintenance and replacement of our vehicles, and insurance.
As a charity run solely by volunteers, and operating mainly in the hours of darkness! we must work harder to raise awareness of who we are and what we do.
Visit the website: www.lrbloodbikes.org.uk.