Severn Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service is a blood bike charity based in the Severn Valley in western England. Founded in 2007,[3] it provides a free motorcycle courier service to hospitals in the region, operating a fleet of emergency-equipped[clarification needed] motorcycles which are ridden and co-ordinated by volunteers. Severn Freewheelers is a founder-member of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) and co-operates with similar organisations in the area including Freewheelers EVS (Bristol and Somerset), SERV (south England) and Midland Freewheelers (north-west Birmingham).
 | |
| Founded | March 2007[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Registered charity |
| Registration no. | 1120999 |
| Focus | NHS motorcycle courier |
Area served | Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, North Wiltshire |
Revenue | £181,816 (year ending 31 Dec 2017)[1] |
Volunteers | 70[2] |
| Website | www |
Operations
editSevern Freewheelers works for hospitals in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and north Wiltshire, including Swindon.
Operations extend into southern Birmingham and Coventry. Major hospitals served include Gloucester Royal, Cheltenham General, Hereford County, Worcester Royal, Redditch Alexandra and Great Western, Swindon, with many smaller hospitals also served including Tewkesbury, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cinderford, Stroud, Dursley, Cirencester, Ross-on-Wye, Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Malvern, Tenbury Wells, Evesham, Pershore, Chippenham and Savernake.
Operating between 7 pm and 7 am on weekdays and 24 hours at weekends and public holidays, the charity provides a service enabling hospitals to avoid the need to use taxis or commercial couriers, saving the NHS an estimated £150,000 each year across the area.[citation needed]
By December 2019, the charity had covered over 1,700,000 miles, had responded to more than 46,000 calls,[4] and was receiving over 500 calls each month. Items carried include samples for pathological or micro-biological analysis, blood and blood products for transfusion, patient notes, drugs, scans and medical equipment. Recent developments include the collection of human breast milk from donors’ homes and its transport to human milk banks at Oxford, Bristol and Birmingham.
During the coronavirus-19 crisis the charity responded by temporarily extending its service to operate 24/7. In addition, some 80 volunteers were recruited from the general public to make home deliveries of medications from general hospitals in Hereford and Gloucestershire. Nearly 3,000 deliveries had been made as of September 2020.
Fund-raising
editIn 2011, the charity held its first Prescott Bike Festival at the Prescott Speed Hill Climb circuit near Bishop's Cleeve in Gloucestershire, which attracted 5,000 visitors.[5] This has since become an annual event.
It also mounts displays at local shows such as the Three Counties Show, the Cotswold Show, the Emergency Services Show,[6] and local music festivals, and attends motorcycle safety events such as BikeSafe. Several motorcycling celebrities including racers Carl Fogarty and Jamie Whitham have offered to help support the charity in raising funds to support its work.[7]
A new-look website was launched in March 2024.
References
edit- ^ a b "Charity Framework". Charity Commission. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Life-saving riders unveil new vehicle". Gloucester Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "The Wheel Thing". Redditch Advertiser. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Voluntary Blood Bikers take 10,000th Call". Worcester News. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Prescott Bike Festival set to be best yet". Redditch Advertiser. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "999 heroes put on a show for thousands". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Biking Legends Backing Charity". Gloucester Echo. Retrieved 14 November 2011.