Weekly Meeting - Nigel Warwick (Severn Free Wheelers)

Nigel Warwick - Severn Free Wheelers

We had a very interesting talk by Nigel Warwick representing Severn Valley Freewheelers

They are a group of advanced motorcyclists providing a free out-of-hours courier service for hospitals in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Hereford and North Wiltshire.  They carry whole blood, pathology samples, patient scans, x-rays, human milk and any other medical materials that can reasonably be carried on a motorbike at the discretion of themselves and a doctor.

The hours are seven in the evening to seven in the morning and all day at weekends and public holidays.  The bikes they have available are usually ex police bikes and they travel huge distances as a consequence of which they require servicing every six or seven weeks.  The bikes are paid for by the organisation and they presently have eight of them.

They have towards a hundred volunteer riders and they must hold a current advanced riding qualification.

Each shift consists of four volunteers, a dispatcher and three drivers.  The dispatcher fields calls from the hospital and plans the routes.  Emergency calls are dealt with first and these are allowed to use blue lights.

Nigel embellished his talk with much detail and individual personal stories.

A very enjoyable evening.

Tony Priestley

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