University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust is once again working with Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes (WSBB) to collect and deliver samples.

WSBB will be providing an out of hours service from 7pm on week days, as well as a 24 hour service at weekends and bank holidays, for urgent and emergency requests.

Blood bikers will work closely with the Coventry and Warwickshire Pathology Service (CWPS), which is overseen by UHCW.

Lisa Kelly, Chief Operating Officer at UHCW, said: “The transport of samples is vital to our work and the Blood Bikers offer a dedicated, professional service.

“These kind volunteers, who give up their time free of charge, make a real difference to the people of Coventry and Warwickshire and local communities.

“We are delighted to continue working in partnership with WSBB. Our aim is to ensure the Pathology Service continues to go from strength to strength and helps to further enhance the patient experience.”

The CWPS covers 1.6 million patients, four hospitals, nine Clinical Commissioning Groups and more than 250 GP practices, with around 10 million samples being handled in 2018/19.

The safe transport of samples forms part of a Service Level Agreement now in place between UHCW and WSBB. The Blood Bikers started delivering samples on Monday, July 1.

Mark Lavery, Chairman of WSBB, said: “It is with great pleasure that the Blood Bikes can once again do what we do best and help save University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust money with our free out of hours service totally run by volunteers and funded by kind donations from the public.”