Blood bikes in vital medical mission
A team of bikers have been on a weekend mission to deliver 160 potentially lifesaving pieces of equipment to care homes.
The Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes leapt into action at the request of the county's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), tasked with getting pulse oximeters to homes across the county.
The oximeters give care home staff an ability to quickly check the blood oxygen levels of residents – one of the major indicators if someone has become potentially seriously ill – and to get them medical help as quickly as possible.
The CCGs had wanted to get the equipment out to care homes as quickly as possible, and enlisted the help of the Blood Bikes charity, for what is their biggest operation to date.
Over Saturday and Sunday they organised a rota and the riders set off making sure the equipment was delivered all over the county.
Lynne Stone, trustee with the charity, said their riders had been incredibly eager to help at very short notice.
She said they had even received more offers of help than were required, with 30 bikers taking part in the operation over the two days.
The charity already had experience of getting items delivered quickly, having helped out with getting PPE to the right place earlier in the pandemic.
The bikers' main roles are making sure that blood is delivered to hospitals when they urgently need it.
Ms Stone explained how the oximeters could make a valuable difference to the care provided.
She said: "In the care homes there are people who either have Covid or have symptoms of Covid and they have to be monitored very carefully to check for any changes in their condition that would warrant them needing to go to hospital.
"They can attach the oximeter to the residents' finger and it monitors the oxygen level in the body and if it changes that is a good indication that there is something happening to someone.
"It is an easy thing to do and takes seconds and they can see immediately if someone is having a problem that is not obvious to the naked eye.
"Care homes have always been a very vulnerable part of the health service and this was a good opportunity to get these items out."
She added: "There was no hesitation from our volunteers. We made the request and within seconds the entire rota was filled up. We had to say to some people, 'sorry we have got enough already'."
The bikers have been dropping the oximeters off in a Covid secure way, leaving bags containing the equipment outdoor for the staff to collect.
Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CGG) interim urgent care programmes boss Alison Massey said: “Learning from the first wave of the virus identified that blood oxygen levels are a good indicator of how poorly a person is.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from the Blood Bike volunteers. Giving our care homes pulse oximeters will mean more people can be safely monitored in their home and the readings, which take seconds, can help a doctor or clinician to quickly assess if they are deteriorating and need to be admitted to hospital.”
