A charity that delivers essential blood and urgent medical supplies, out-of-hours, to North East hospitals has had its plea for help answered by the operators of the Tyne Tunnels, TT2.
TT2 has made a £5,000 donation to Northumbria Blood Bikes to pay for the cost of their fuel for a whole month, after reading the charity’s appeal for more donations and volunteer bikers. TT2’s gift will fund 1,000 healthcare journeys which will help at least 1,000 local people – potentially saving many lives.
Outside normal office hours, hospitals rely on couriers or taxis to transfer urgent medical supplies or test samples between hospitals and other healthcare sites. Northumbria Blood Bike carry out this service free-of-charge, ensuring the NHS’s limited resources can be used where it matters most.
Kirsty Lawrence, trustee of Northumbria Blood Bikes, said: “We are incredibly thankful to the team at the Tyne Tunnels for thinking of our charity and their generous donation towards our fuel costs which will enable our volunteers to support the NHS with over 1,000 jobs free of charge across the month they are sponsoring. Without the help of donations we wouldn’t be able to be there when people need us most. Thank you.”
The service covers Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne City, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
The charity’s funding comes entirely from cash donations, and the service is provided solely by volunteers.
In critical situations, blood or other medical items need to be delivered urgently in order to save a patient’s life. Blood bikes, with their distinctive livery and narrow profile, can quickly get through busy traffic to reach their destination. For bulky items, or in extreme weather conditions, cars are used too.
TT2 customer operations manager, Shaun Simmons, said: “With the cost of fuel being so high and this transport service being so important to the people of our region, we are happy to be able to support them.”
