Why do we need Blood Bikes?

A blood sample, typical of the items carried by NABB member groups


Thee history page shows that blood bikes have been a feature in the UK since 1969. In recent years the number of blood bike groups has grown significantly and there are now hundreds of motorcyclists who freely volunteer their time to the service. People often ask why a blood service is needed and what is that we actually do. If you look at the aims of all the blood bike groups you will see three common themes:

  1. Saving money for the NHS
  2. Saving lives
  3. Promoting a positive image of motorcyclists to the public

Saving Money

The National Health Service does not have unlimited resources. One area that is very costly to the NHS is courier services. Most hospitals operate an internal courier service to ferry diagnostic specimens, blood, notes, x-rays, scans and other medical equipment between themselves and other hospitals in the area. These services generally operate during office hours, which means that in the evening and at weekends the hospitals need to make alternative provision for items that need to be transported there and then. In many cases this alternative provision is to use a taxi. With taxi rates around £2/mile and even more at night, it doesn't take much for a hospital to run up huge bills. In the South West of England, for example, Frenchay Hospital near Bristol is a specialist hospital for head injuries. Many hospitals in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire send patient notes or scans for the urgent attention of the specialists at Frenchay, which can involve journey of 50 miles or more. Blood bikes will do this for free saving the NHS £100 each time.

So why should blood bike groups do this? It is very simple - if they didn't then more money would have to be found from the taxpayer. Blood bike volunteers give their time, and sometimes their own money, freely. In 2006, Freewheelers EVS made 1,800 deliveries and travelled over 50,000 miles at a cost of around £20,000 - all of which was paid for by charitable donations. If the NHS had used taxis for the same journeys it would have cost more than £60,000. If hospitals had tried to do it using their own motorcycles and paid staff it would have cost closer to £300,000.

Saving lives

There are times when blood, or other medical items need to be transported urgently because a patient's life is at risk. A blood bike can be relied upon to respond quickly and move with ease through busy traffic, even if it is not fitted with emergency lights and sirens. Furthermore the groups can guarantee to be available after 11:00pm on a Saturday night when the chances of getting a taxi to respond in less than an hour would be slim. To steal from the Mastercard advertisements, Taxi - £100, Blood Bike - £0, saving a patient's life - priceless!

Positive image

NABB volunteers collecting money to pay for the service they offer

Some people have a negative opinion of motorcyclists. Whether this is because of impatient city-centre couriers, or scare stories about biker gangs, it is something that can unfortunately taint all motorcyclists. All blood bike groups promote good practice among their volunteer riders, all of whom hold an advanced riding qualification. High-visibility jackets and marked motorcycles mean our riders are very visible to the public when riding so it is essential that they behave with the utmost professionalism at all times. People who see blood bike riders collecting money, or walking into a hospital ward are often amazed that the groups exist and walk away impressed with the work that they do. Slowly, person by person, we manage to change people's impressions of bikers. This isn't the groups' main reason for being, but it is a happy side-effect of the work that we do.