Northumbria Blood Bikes is a registered charity which transports blood and urgent medical supplies throughout the North East of England, from Berwick in the North to Darlington in the South and between the Eastern coast and the Cumbria border. The charity is run entirely by volunteers and relies on these volunteers to undertake all tasks. We are operational outside of normal office hours: from 19:00 in the evening until 07:00 in the morning during the week, and at weekends we cover from 19:00 on Friday until 07:00 on Monday (or the next working day after that on Bank Holidays).    

We are looking for volunteer Riders to help the charity to deliver a full and professional service.

As a Rider, your tasks will be varied. Through the majority of the year, your work will be very active, transporting goods from the hospitals, and working with fellow volunteers to deliver an operational service. Throughout the winter months, you may need to work with our car drivers for some deliveries as some products can’t be delivered by bike at low temperatures. Through the year, we undertake a huge number of events which need the blood bikes to attend. 

Whilst the majority of operational work is out of hours, there is good portion of work to be done in more normal hours, often at weekends. You will work very closely with the Shift Controller, or other service as is appropriate at the time, and use technology to record activities.

Duties

1. Transport blood and other urgent medical supplies between NHS premises out of hours in cold weather.
2. Complete annual riding assesments with our Training Officer
3. Undertake any other training as may be required to perform safely
4. Ride at all times portraying a professional image of the Group.
5. Take part in regular training sessions
6. Undertake fundraising and publicity activities as you are able to with the bike

Requirements

1. Aged 25 or over
2. Full A category (big bike) driving licence for 2 years or more
3. Acceptable riding history (acceptable to our insurers)
4. Have a suitable location to park the bike at home for time on shift, or work from one of the ambulance stations where we are based on shift.
5. Current advanced riding certificate (IAM, RoSPA, Police, DSA Instructor or emergency services equivalent) which must have been passed or re-assessed within 3 years prior to your initial NBB assessment.
6. Able to cover one 12-hour shift at a time (overnight or weekend days) when operational (hours as above)

You can find out more from our FAQ or, to join, fill in our membership form 

If you are not currently an advanced rider, don't let that stop you. You can join now, and train through one of our local IAM / RoSPA groups to get through the test, although you will not be able to rider our bikes until after your advanced test is passed, and a few small steps have been taken.