Our managing partner joins the Whiteknights ahead of National Blood Bike Day

Our founder and managing partner, Laurence Turner has volunteered to assist the Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes ahead of National Blood Bike Day on 12th August 2017.

The Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes is a local charity providing free ‘out of hours’ transportation of blood and other vital supplies to the NHS and hospices throughout the region.

Laurence joined the Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes on the 19th June, after undertaking his advanced motorists qualification. He recently embarked on his first overnight shift for the charity, carrying critical blood supplies from Bradford’s Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice to Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax and will now assume the volunteering role several times each month.

Laurence commented:

“Riding for the Whiteknights helps patients all over West Yorkshire get blood results and test results far quicker than they would any other way. If we weren’t doing this, the NHS would have no option but to pay for taxis.

“I’m sure if more of the public knew about the Whiteknights and that we were purely volunteers, more people would be keen to help the cause with admin support, paying for the fuel and help to keep us going.

“Having ridden a motorcycle for the last thirty years and having a real understanding of the cost constraints that have now been placed on the NHS, I was keen to use my skills to give something back to the community and support a local charity doing fantastic things for those in need.

“I am thoroughly enjoying my volunteering with the Whiteknights and I’m looking forward to many more shifts to come. Juggling work with volunteering hasn’t been easy and in the heat it can be tricky to ride but it’s something I’m very committed to. Helping the charity is extremely important to me; It’s a very rewarding way to give back.”

Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes West Yorkshire Regional Manager, Andy Dickens said:

“Since joining the Whiteknights in June of this year, Laurence has integrated into our team of volunteer riders well. To date, he has successfully completed 26 over-night shifts of being on-call for the urgent transportation of Pathology samples between The Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

“He has been a friendly and valued member of the team and I hope his enthusiasm for the importance of the voluntary work we do to save the NHS money, will continue as we reach the more challenging riding conditions of winter.”

Find out more about the Whiteknights by visiting their website https://whiteknights.org.uk