YEOVIL Freewheelers (YFW) Blood Bikes, the emergency volunteer service that provides a vital free of charge courier service to the NHS, are appealing for more donations so they can continue their life-saving efforts.
The group run six bikes, each costing £5,000 to fuel and maintain each year, covering the Somerset area, including Frome, alongside another Freewheelers group which is based in Bristol and covers the south west.
“We are the oldest surviving blood bike group in the country, the two older groups having been forced to close through lack of funds some time ago,” said the YFW group. “Last year we made over 1,800 out-of-hours deliveries, carrying blood, platelets, blood and tissue samples, medication, breast milk, documents, CT scans, and equipment to hospitals, hospices, and nursing homes as well as private addresses across much of Somerset and all of Dorset, saving the NHS well over £200,000 while easing patients’ suffering and helping to save lives.
“We have never had financial support from national or local government nor from the hospitals that task us, neither do we charge for any services. All our members are volunteers receiving no remuneration or expenses at all. We operate all year round, riding in all weathers whenever we are needed, 24hrs a day, entirely free of charge.
“Increasingly, our retired and shift working members are called on to make emergency runs during the day to fetch a rare medicine, take a sample to a specialist laboratory for analysis or deliver equipment to an operating theatre.
“Fund-raising by the group is always a challenge but over the last 40 years individual members of the local community, as well as local businesses, have been incredibly generous with their donations, clearly demonstrating how they value the service and are willing to contribute to keeping it going. Since the NHS has come to rely on us, it is essential that our fundraising keeps pace with their demands.
“Your donations make all that we do possible, and you have helped in many ways – from paying for fuel for one of our bikes at the pumps, buying one of our rider’s refreshments whilst they have stopped to refuel to visiting our donations page and choosing one of the donation options shown.”
To donate to YFW and to find out more, visit: www.yfwbloodbikes.org
Pictured: Blood Bikes out and about.
