Volunteer motorcycle organisation Bloodbikes Australia has been operating in New England for the last few years, but it plans to ramp up its activities in the area very soon.
Bloodbikes Australia volunteers help healthcare providers make urgent deliveries when no other transport method is available. The initiative started in the United Kingdom around 50 years ago and has spread worldwide.
Steve Adams, a Bingara local and the Bloodbike coordinator for North West NSW, has been a rider for the last five years.
“I help out Moree Hospital at the moment. If they want to get a sample or something else delivered to Tamworth for example, and there is no other option available, they give me a call,” he said.
As Bloodbikes Australia looks to expand its operations into the Narang, Tenterfield, Armidale, Glen Innes, and Inverell areas, the group is actively seeking healthcare providers who might benefit from their service.
They are also looking for riders, individuals who are passionate about motorbikes and want to make a difference in their community.
According to Steve, the goal isn’t to replace the regular courier system healthcare providers use. Bloodbikes is strictly a last line of defence if all other transport avenues are exhausted to ensure crucial workers aren’t taken away from their day jobs.
“Using us leaves those frontliners in place; we are the last resort when everything else has gone wrong, and a delivery needs to be made,” Steve said.
“All volunteers work as individuals; we are just a group of people who like riding motorbikes and want to do good for their community.”
For more information, visit the Bloodbikes Australia website, Facebook page, or email Steve Adams at bloodbikesnwnsw@gmail.com to inquire about becoming a rider in the New England or using the Bloodbikes service.
Overseas Initiative comes to the New England
Inspired by the Bloodbikes movement in the UK, Ireland and Scotland, Australian founder Peter Davis started Bloodbikes around September 2019.
The now retired cartographer says it began as a “Good excuse to go for a ride” and has since blossomed nationally, with 350 fully qualified volunteers, 7010 deliveries completed, and over 720,000 kilometres travelled.
“I had a mate volunteering for Bloodbikes Scotland; I followed him on Facebook and saw what they did. I thought it’s a good excuse to go for a ride and do some good at the same time,” Peter said.
“In the UK, it’s more frontline. In Australia, I found that we already had a very developed courier medical system. Where I found a need was in the more urgent deliveries when courier services were unable for whatever reason.”
At the moment, there are Bloodbikes coordinators all around Australia, including Steve Adams in the New England. The coordinators act as the communication hub and point of contact for the riders and healthcare providers.
“We are not a charity; we don’t collect any money, we don’t even have a bank account. Every rider is independent and has their own bike and pays for their expenses,” Peter said.
“We are not trying to take over anyone’s job or take the job of couriers. When the healthcare providers are stuck for an urgent delivery, we can step up and do it for free.”
Surprising origin of Bloodbikes uncovered
Since beginning Bloodbikes Australia, Peter says he has discovered quite a bit about the wider Bloodbikes movement, and how it operates in other countries under various names.
He also found a surprising fact about the precursor to Bloodbikes. Specifically, it may have begun in Australia near the end of World War I, during the 1918 influenza virus outbreak, colloquially called the Spanish flu.
“A daughter of one of our volunteers was doing a research project on the Spanish flu and came across a photograph, and it turns out the concept of Bloodbikes may have started in Australia around 1919,” Peter said.
“SOS motorcycles used sidecars and would take doctors’ blankets and medicine to where they were needed most during the Spanish flu.
“Unbeknown to anyone, it appears this whole concept of motorcycles as a last resort medical service started in Australia over a century ago.”
Like what you’re reading? Support The New England Times by making a small donation today and help us keep delivering local news paywall-free. Donate now