We have provided five communication sets to North West Blood Bikes (Lancs & Lakes) (NWBBL), a voluntary group transporting critical blood supplies to hospitals around the region.
Communication is key
Initially, the new communication sets will assist the Blood Bikers in training, which is a necessary on-going requirement. In the near future Bluetooth devices will be fitted within the rider’s helmet, allowing use of either mobile phones or radios whilst riding the bike safely.
Regular training
In his spare time, Al Boyle, who works on the Typhoon programme at our Warton site is the Fylde Area Manager for NWBBL. Al said: “We really appreciate the funding of our communication sets. Our riders all undergo regular training and whilst on the bikes it is vital that communication between the rider and instructor/assessor is maintained and these radios are perfect for that. Once we have integrated the radios with the Bluetooth helmet sets, our riders will be able to communicate with the controller during a run in case of an issue or priority change – a run can sometimes have its priority raised from ‘Urgent’ to ‘Emergency’ and it is vital that the rider is made aware.”
More volunteers please
Currently around a dozen of our employees are volunteering for NWBBL on a regular basis but the charity are always looking for more volunteers to swell the ranks. Al says: “You don’t even have to be able to ride a motorcycle! As well as duty riders we also need people to take on the roles of duty controllers, despatching riders on behalf of the hospitals, fundraisers to attend events on our behalf and admin support to help ensure continued professionalism of the charity.”
About NWBBL
NWBBL is a charity that provides an out of hour’s service to the NHS to transport lifesaving medical supplies to hospitals in the region. Using state of the art emergency vehicles the volunteers staff a rota covering 365 nights of the year as well as offering 24 hour coverage during weekends and bank holidays including Christmas and New Year.
Check out the Blood Bikes video on the NWBBL website.
