Cornwall Blood Bikes founded in 2011, is a purely volunteer run charity operating “out of hours” Monday to Friday 5pm-7am and 24 hours weekends and bank holidays.
Operating 365 days a year, in all winds and weathers, delivering urgent medical supplies; pathology samples, whole blood, platelets, medical notes, medical equipment, medication, donor breast milk and much more.
A band of 65 strong volunteers consisting of both riders and coordinators who pride themselves on offering a professional, flexible, bespoke, and free service to hospitals and hospices across Cornwall.
We like to be flexible to react to the demands and needs of the NHS here in Cornwall and love to think that our small contribution can help improve patient care.
The need for this free service has grown over the years and no more so since the Covid-19 pandemic as the world around us all saw turbulent change.
In 2020 the charity made an SOS call to our volunteers after carrying our first every suspect Covid-19 swab and the response was outstanding, which meant by the 17th March 2020 we had launched our 24/7 emergency response to support our NHS partners as all our worlds started to change, but returned to normal operating hours in September 2020.
During this time the charity was working in collaboration on a very special project involving the blood transfusion team at The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, South Western Ambulance Service and another Cornish Charity; The Cornwall Air Ambulance all funded by The Henry Surtees Foundation.
The Blood on Board project meant for the first time ever, that blood is now carried on board the helicopter, giving the critical care team the option to start emergency transfusions before a patient even reaches the hospital. In the inaugural year and to date of this project the crew administered 18 transfusions on scene, reducing the time between injury and intervention leading to positive outcomes in most of the cases.
In 2021 we covered just over 218,493 miles and completed 6,736 operational jobs
To date in 2022 we have covered over 176,749 miles and completed over 5,900 operational jobs.
It is pure teamwork that keeps the wheels of this charity turning, with so much work going on behind the scenes which is extraordinary as so many of these volunteers continue to be in full time employment, or self-employed running their own businesses, and yet these volunteers continue to give so much for the benefit of others,
It will always remain privilege to wear a Blood Bike jacket to provide our service. Cornwall Blood Bikes as a charity receives no government funding and literally relies on the outstanding generosity from the communities of Cornwall, with every single penny raised going back into keeping our wheels turning and our free service operating.
To find out more about us please visit our website CLICK HERE or call our General Enquiry line 0300 365 0912
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