Donation keeps blood bike riders on the road
ADONATION from a hospital trust will keep volunteer blood bikers on the road for another year.
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) has donated £7,000 to North West Blood Bikes, a team of volunteers who provide a lifeline service for local NHS patients and services.
The bikers transport emergency blood supplies to hospitals across East Lancashire during evenings and at weekends, and also deliver x-ray results, breast milk and samples for laboratory testing.
ELHT pathology manager Jeff Cottam presented the cheque to chairman Paul Brooks to help cover bike equipment, maintenance and petrol.
Jeff said: “North West Blood Bike volunteers provide a fantastic service to the hospitals and NHS patients of East Lancashire, no matter what unsociable time we call them or whatever the weather.
“The trust has benefitted from the bikers’ work for several years now and making this donation helps to keep North West Blood Bikes on the road represents a substantial saving on what it would cost the NHS if we contracted a private transport service to provide the same service.”
Jeff and his colleagues at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital welcomed 24 volunteer bikers for a tour of the hospital’s laboratories, followed by a ‘thank you’ buffet for their work.
Paul said: “Our thanks to everyone at East Lancashire Hospitals for this very welcome donation and it was great to meet the lab staff and learn so much about what happens to the samples we transport.
“At no cost, we transport blood and other products between hospitals and other medical facilities.
“Everyone at North West Blood Bikes is a volunteer. We all want to put something back into the NHS and blood biking is our way of making that commitment.
“Across the county, North West Blood Bikes saved the NHS £359,192 last year, a huge sum when you think about it that buys a lot of medical equipment. Include Blood Bike groups across the UK and it equates to millions of pounds.”