Cornwall Blood Bikes and the night shift nobody sees

Most people in Cornwall have never seen one go past. That is rather the point. The riders are out when the roads are quiet, between five in the evening and seven the next morning, and all the way through weekends and bank holidays, carrying things that somebody in a hospital or a laboratory is waiting for.

Today is National Blood Bike Day, and Cornwall Blood Bikes has joined groups across the UK and beyond in marking it.

Out of hours, every day of the year

The Cornish charity runs 5pm to 7am on weekdays and 24 hours at weekends and on bank holidays, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The service is provided completely free of charge to the NHS, to hospices and to associated healthcare partners.

Free means free. The charity describes it as a professional, bespoke service at £0 charge to Cornwall’s hospitals and hospices.

What is actually in the box

The obvious answer is blood. The real answer is longer.

• Blood and blood products
• Pathology and laboratory samples
• Urgent medication
• Patient notes and medical documentation
• Donor breast milk
• Medical equipment and supplies

And more besides. “Behind every journey is something that somebody, somewhere, is waiting for,” the charity said in its Blood Bike Day message.

Sometimes the consignment is needed urgently. Sometimes it is simply moving between hospitals or laboratories overnight so that the morning can start where it left off. Sometimes it is supporting the care of the tiniest and most vulnerable patients.

“Whatever the consignment, our purpose remains the same,” the charity said, “to get the right item to the right place, safely and professionally, when it is needed.”

The bit that keeps it running

There is no paid rota behind any of this. The Cornwall Blood Bikes operation is built entirely on volunteers, and the charity was blunt about that today. Advanced trained riders and coordinators give up their time to cover duties, to fundraise and to represent the charity, and thousands of hours a year go in behind the scenes from people whose names never appear anywhere.

The charity noted that a great deal is expected of it now, and said that expectation exists because of what its volunteers have built over the years, a reputation for reliability, professionalism and service.

It has not all been straightforward. Cornwall Blood Bikes described “incredible milestones, enormous change and, at times, some of the saddest and most challenging moments in our charity’s history”.

“Yet through it all, our wheels have continued to turn.”

A Cornish charity, a national day

National Blood Bike Day recognises the thousands of volunteers who freely give their time to the service across the country and around the world. Cornwall Blood Bikes said it was proud to be a Cornish charity serving Cornwall, and equally proud to stand alongside the other groups marking the day.

The charity’s closing thanks went to every operational mile, every job completed, every volunteer, and every person whose life may ultimately be touched by something as simple as somebody saying: “Yes, I’ll do it.”

📷Credit: Cornwall Blood Bikes