FAQ
From galwaytt(John M), who dedicates a lot of his time to the cause (check out the vid)
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It may surprise some - but then again maybe not......but within this nations healthcare system, there is a gap in service which we have found needs to be filled. I'm not talking about the (near daily) crises we hear about in A & E etc, or waiting lists for any number of tests, procedures (incl transplant) or assessments. I'm not even talking about a particularly high-tech need. But I am talking about a vital, and often critical need.
What we in Blood Bike West have identified is that even when you get to the point of having that test, or you end up in A & E on foot of an accident or similar, or you have a premature baby in the Neonatal unit, then after 7-pm in the evening, and all over weekends & holidays, there is a gaping logistical gap.
There is currently no way the system can process the likes of transport of blood & tissue specimens to/from specialist laboratories, delivery of scans to specialists, special medical supplies and even breast milk, from getting to where they need to be, to alleviate and progress the treatments people are waiting on, outside of 'normal' hours.
So Blood Bike West was set up, and using advanced-trained riders to the RoSPA Standard (think the Garda/Police standard), we have formed a charity that takes on board the needs above - and delivers them. We currently have 29 members, and with a background team of controllers we move critical items across the country to make sure patient outcome is optimised and given the best chance of success. And if that means moving something at 1am in the morning from Letterkenny to Cork - then so be it. We have the vehicles, the training and the people. (see just one evening's work attached....)
Naturally, all this needs funding - and we get no funding from the State. All of it is privately raised: sponsors, bucket collections, social & fun events etc. etc. This includes buying and running the fleet of motorcycles. All the riders buy their own gear, pay for all their own training & tests etc, and naturally give up their time on rota on a voluntary basis.
We have been involved in some truly amazing stories along the way but our normal fleet requires 3 bikes on the road, and right now we have 2 - we had to retire one recently due to age etc, so we are actively fundraising to replace it.
As part of this fundraising, we have entered a pared-down video made for us earlier in the year in the Better Together video competition - what we are asking as many people as possible to do is simply go and vote for us, and if were to win that, the prize would go a long way to getting our fleet back to full capacity.
To vote for us, simply go to http://2015.bettertogether.ie/video/blood-bike-west and vote for us.
Once you've done that, do pop along to www.bloodbikewest.ie and look for our media page to see the full length version of the video, which was broadcast on Irish TV in May - it will be repeated on TV sometime over Christmas as well.
Thanks for all your help - and don't forget to vote !
.. Hope this all goes well for them!..Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests
