THE volunteers behind the Whiteknights charity have got off to a flying start this year.
The group, which ferries vital samples and test results between hospitals in Huddersfield and Calderdale, has taken delivery of three new bikes – ex-Metropolitan police BMW R1200RT-Ps.
The first went into service last month, ridden by Martin Garside, collecting blood samples from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and dispatching them to the blood transfusion service in Seacroft, Leeds.
The new bikes will enable Whiteknights to deal with the increasing number of call-outs by NHS departments. January, for example, has seen an increase of 12% compared with last year.
And with more NHS departments becoming aware of the service offered by Whiteknights, this year looks like it’s going to be a busy time for these knights of the road.
Terry Dutchburn, chairman of Whiteknights, said: “These are exciting times. The new bikes are now fully operational and we are in discussions with another hospice who are keen to use our service.”
Ben Moorhouse, Whiteknights dispatch manager, said: “It would be great to get more people involved in volunteering.
“You don’t need to be able to ride a motorbike to be involved – our dispatchers just need access to a phone. Even if you can just spare one night a month, all our volunteers’ efforts are greatly appreciated.”
Vic Siswick, founder member of Whiteknights, added: “I never would have believed that from humble beginnings approximately five years ago, not only do we now provide the valuable service I dreamed of, but we also have three new bikes and an amazing team of volunteers.”
Whiteknights is Huddersfield’s branch of Blood Bikes, a national scheme which provides an emergency out of hours transportation service free of charge to the NHS Trusts.
It is run by volunteers and operates from 7pm to 7am weekdays and 24 hours at weekends and on Bank Holidays.
Whiteknights was founded after Vic was lying in a hospital bed recovering from cancer.
In the next bed to him was a patient who started to get agitated as his breathing became more and more difficult and pain coursed through his body.
Nurses and doctors began emergency care. One of them drew the curtains around his bed to give him privacy. However, the nurse had not quite brought the curtains fully together and because of the angle of the open bay window Vic was given a ringside seat of the fight for life which was won due to the medics’ dedication.
He said that night was not a ‘calling’ nor was it a ‘revelation’ – it simply became a point in his life where he started to think of how he could give something back.
He said: “I think we all have had some fairly defining moments in life where we thought we could do something for the better, whether we had caused a problem or had witnessed something that has made us stop to ponder the moment.”
Anyone who would like to become involved with Whiteknights – rider, dispatcher, fundraiser or donation-giver should access their website: www.whiteknights.org.uk
