Night rider makes vital deliveries
BIKER Phil Palmer is putting his passion to positive use by helping to provide a life-saving ser- vice for Leicester’s hospitals.
A car-driving salesman by day, after-hours and at weekends he takes to two wheels, transporting vital blood supplies, samples, surgical equipment and specialist scans between hospitals in the city and beyond to help speed care for sometimes critically ill patients.
As a member of Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes team, the 45-year-old from Hinckley donates many hours every month to providing the free delivery service, saving health trusts from paying out on private courier firms or taxis.
The charity was launched last year, following the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) model and running alongside a similar group in Warwickshire, for which Mr Palmer also rides.
The former British Motorcyle Association instructor said: “I’ve been riding bikes for more years than I care to remember.
“I took the advanced test to get cheaper insurance but I wondered if there was anything I could do to put it to good use and Blood Bikes fitted that.
“I use the bike riding, which I enjoy, to put a bit back into the community.
“I know that every little bit of money that is saved by me can go back into more important and direct patient care within the NHS.”
He added: “If there is a call that means we can get a blood test for a child with potential meningitis, every minute counts.
“When my daughter had her baby she needed a blood transfusion.
“It was during the day but if it had been at night, as a parent and grandparent it’s good to know there is somebody out there.
“Because our work is out of hours, mainly at night, people don’t see us, so we’re not always known about.
“We do some urgent deliveries.
“If that is something that has helped save someone, it’s great.”
The Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes team also has a van, sponsored by Drive Vauxhall, which riders use instead of bikes when temperatures fall below freezing, for safety.
Around 30 qualified riders are on the regional rota, claiming back only the cost of fuel (although some don’t even do that) for their out-of-hours work.
More volunteers always needed.
Call-handlers, admin workers, fundraisers and charity ambassadors are all important in ensuring that the service works efficiently and is really are financially ble.
“If you can wake up and answer the phone at night, you can help,” said Mr Palmer.
Across the country in 2015, volunteer blood biker groups received 39,000 requests from hospitals to transport blood, samples or tests for analysis.
Between November 1 last year and January 23 this year, the Leicestershire and Rutland group covered 112 shifts answering 122 call-outs, more than one per-shift.
As well as blood, the group also operate a breastmilk donor service where donated milk is used to feed premature babies or those whose mums are unable to feed them.
The service is run out of Birmingham Women’s Hospital. To find out more about the Leicestershire and Rutland Blook Bikes scheme visit www.lrbloodbikes.org. uk where donations can also be made.
The team can be emailed at enquiries@ lrbloodbikes.org.uk or followed on Twitter @ LRBloodBikes and on Facebook via LRBloodBikes. sustaina-