As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact daily life, some of our Rolls-Royce employees have been sharing how they are making extraordinary contributions in the global fight against COVID-19.
Mark Tivey works for Defence in Bristol as Vice President of Sales. In his spare time, he has been providing critical support to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) as a volunteer “BloodBiker”.
“As an avid motorcyclist, I’ve been volunteering with Freewheelers EV, a charity better known as “BloodBikes” for the past three years, transporting critical medical supplies to NHS hospitals throughout the South West region. This includes delivering blood and plasma to the Air Ambulance bases in Bristol and Wiltshire every evening. We have four hi-viz marked Yamaha 1300cc bikes on duty at any one time complete with blue lights and sirens for emergency situations.
“Completely reliant on volunteers, Freewheelers EV provides a free of charge, out of hours’ courier service to the NHS. Since the COVID-19 virus reached the shores of the UK, demands for our services are higher than ever, and we are now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“During a recent weekend shift, I clocked up over 640 miles throughout the South West transporting a varied cargo of blood, medical equipment, patient notes, frozen breast milk and microbiology samples, including COVID-19 test samples. Of course, there are very rigorous handling procedures in place to ensure both myself as the rider, the recipient and the transported items all remain safe, guarded and protected.
“640 miles is enough to get from Bristol to Frankfurt so it can be tiring but it’s immensely rewarding at the same time. One of my tasks was to undertake the first leg of an overnight relay with BloodBike groups across the country carrying an urgent sample from Bristol to the North of England in support of a transplant operation. Whilst I rarely get to meet the people we are helping, it’s still rewarding to know that in some small way I’ve helped the NHS and sick patients in their time of need.
“As a BloodBiker, we all share the same basic self-motivation – a passion for riding. In these strange days when we should all stay at home as much as possible, I have to confess it has been refreshing to get out on two wheels again.”