Banner's Studio Manager, Clive Andrews-Lewis, made good use of his annual Charity Day by taking on a double shift for Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire Blood Bikes (SSCBB).
Starting at 7am on Thursday 1st September 2022, and covering in excess of 300 miles over the next 12 hours, Clive carried blood tests & samples, fecal matter for treatment, and even loaned blood (of rare blood types) between Queens Hospital in Burton-On-Trent, two locations in Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, Royal Worcester Hospital, George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, and University Hospital Warwickshire.
SSCBB is an urgent volunteer service providing transportation of blood products, free of charge, to all NHS hospitals across Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Cheshire.
Whether it be the early hours of the morning, or the end of the night, if a hospital urgently requires blood, blood bikers are there to help. Reducing the costs of hospitals paying taxi services up to £300 per trip to do the same job. With the help of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes this money can now be saved and spent on higher priority things such as medical supplies which could go on to save someone's life.
Just blood you say?
SSCBB transport a variety of other urgent medical items in addition to blood products, including breast milk, which is donated by women and used to feed premature babies. This is achieved using temperature controlled boxes attached to our bikes. Furthermore, they are also open to transporting other urgent items such as patient notes, electronic scan information, and even small pieces of urgently needed surgical equipment.
The Blood Bike Network
Across the UK there are groups similar to SSCBB operating for the benefit of their local area. Through co-operation between these groups, they link together to form the Blood Bike Network, which provides a vital service up and down the country, saving the NHS money on taxis – and, most importantly, saving lives!
See more from the SSCBB and the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, here
Mission Statement
The stated aims of the charity are:
By assisting them in their mission of relieving sickness and protecting life and health, by the provision of wholly volunteer-supported out-of-hours transport for urgently-needed blood, drugs, human tissue, donated breast milk and any other urgent medical requirements, both between hospitals and to, or from, blood or human milk banks, together with scheduled collections from breast milk donors.
With the ever-increasing need for the NHS to save money but without compromising patient care, the demands upon the charity grow each year. SSCBB needs to grow to meet this increasing demand. To do so, they need more volunteers, whether that be in the form of riders, fundraisers or controllers. To find out more, visit the website.
Banner's Charity Volunteering Scheme
As part of the evo group, Banner employees benefit from the group's charity volunteering scheme which allows employees to take a day's paid leave once a year to undertake charity work for local community projects.
Get in touch
To get in touch click the link here, or phone us on 0843 538 3311.
To become a customer email Contact.Banner@BannerUK.com.