Volunteer Roles
We have four different types of volunteer member.
Our Riders:
We welcome riders who already hold their advanced certificate and offer guidance to those who wish to obtain it. An advanced certificate is necessary to ride for our Charity and we also ask you to undergo a short informal assessment by one of our own assessment team.
We do expect our riders to commit to rota shifts, during the day, the evening and at night. Our expectation of our riders is that they do at least 2 shifts a month.
You will be eligible to ride a group liveried bike and carry a variety of urgent medical samples and supplies between the hospitals that we serve. We offer a service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year across three Counties and beyond. Each hospital has differing requirements and we pride ourselves on our flexibility.
Ongoing training on all procedures and protocols is in place.
Our Controllers:
Volunteering for a morning, afternoon, evening and night shift 7 days a week, 365 days a year, they are responsible for answering calls for help from our hospitals and dispatching riders in response.
A special telephone number divert system allows the hospitals to contact the duty Controller on their preferred number, be it a mobile or landline. Details are requested and recorded and dependent on the hospital, the area and the duty rota our Controller then dispatches their rider. A live record of each journey is recorded.
Our expectation of our controllers is that they do at least 2 shifts a month.
Good communication between riders and controllers is paramount as part of our duty of care. They work as a team.
Training is provided and a Duty Committee member is always on standby to provide guidance and support.
Our Fund Raisers:
As a registered Charity run by volunteers, we are all fund raisers. Members who do not wish to ride or control can make a valuable contribution in supporting the charity by attending events or holding events to raise funds. Income received allows us to run the fleet and offer a free service to our local hospitals.
Our Speaker Team:
Our experienced riders/controllers and fundraisers, with some training, often join our Speaker Team and give presentations to a variety of organisations across the three counties we serve. Their experience and ‘stories’ are informative, emotive and also entertaining and our audiences are astonished on learning about the extent of the work of the Bloodbike Charity and even more so when they realise we are all volunteers.
Whilst we make no charge for our presentations the groups to whom we present usually make a donation to the charity. After the talk it is not unusual for groups to hold internal fundraising events and donate the proceeds to SSCBB. The Speaker Team, over the years, have been instrumental in raising thousands of pounds for the charity with the generosity of the organisations we have presented to.
Organisations enquiring about a talk should contact the Speaker Team Co-ordinator at talks@ssbbgroup.org.uk
What people say about us
“The blood bikes are vital to getting our life saving faecal transplants to critically ill patients with C. dificile infection”
Professor Peter Hawkey, FMT Service Lead, PHE Public Health Laboratory Birmingham
“On a regular basis we need to transport samples urgently, between Shrewsbury and Telford, and also from here in Shropshire to Birmingham and beyond. In the past it has been quite difficult, out of hours, to get those samples moving quickly, so it has made a huge difference to us to be able to rely on blood bikes to get those samples moving for us.”
Debbie Jones, Support Services Care Group Director Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
“The voluntary service the blood bikes offer us has been instrumental in widening the scope of our FMT service across the country and ensuring costs are a low as possible for the NHS”
Dr Vicki McCune, FMT Service Manager PHE Public Health Laboratory Birmingham
“There is certainly times when the quicker we can get results back, the better the outcome for the patient, so blood bikes are helping to save lives and, at the same time, they are saving the NHS lots of money”
Debbie Jones, Support Services Care Group Director Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
“We are so grateful to the volunteer riders who give up their time to courier blood products and urgent samples for testing between our hospitals and the regional NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) centre in Birmingham. Every minute counts when it comes to helping seriously-ill and injured patients and being able to call on the blood bikes round the clock helps us to provide safe, effective treatment and transfusions.”
Paula Gardener, Chief Nurse Burton Hospital Trust (covering Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth)
“We very much appreciate all of their efforts and the support they give both SaTH and the wider NHS.”
Debbie Jones, Support Services Care Group Director Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Want to help?
