#TeamTuesdays – Graeme Thompson

“I work for a large employer in West Cumbria. I am married to Melanie, and we have two children, Logan who is 8 and Mia age 5 (going on 25) – all three are very supportive of my role in Blood Bikes and are my motivation for doing it.

I joined what was originally Blood Bikes Cumbria and South West Scotland in May 2014 as the charity was just setting up, after experiencing first-hand what a difference our service could make to patients and their families. At the very first general meeting I volunteered as the inaugural West Area Manager, alongside an Area Manager for the East and one for South West Scotland.

 

On 4th July 2014 I accompanied Alan Bragg, then Vice Chair, on the very first run carrying product from the old labs at West Cumberland to Carlisle Infirmary (it was a very wet night despite the time of year). We had to use our own bikes, and pay for our own fuel, maintenance, tyres, and insurance etc in the ‘early days’.

 

Soon afterwards we split from South West Scotland due to the administrate differences in running a charity across the border. After the first twelve months of the charity being operational, I handed over the role so that I could concentrate my time on my 18-month-old son and daughter “on the way”. I remained active with the group not just riding but also doing presentations, visiting schools and training new controllers. – I love talking about blood bikes and the work we do.

 

In 2018 I re-joined the committee in my present position as Operations Manager and was reappointed as a trustee of the charity. Since then as well as the day to day running of operations, I have helped to coordinate the groups response to the current COVID 19 pandemic acting as liaison between the group, our health partners, the police and numerous other stakeholders. On 23rd March 2020 as the country went into lock down Blood Bikes Cumbria stepped up our service to 24/7 and within 3 hours of putting the initial request out to cover all the shifts, the rotas were full for the following 3 months- such is the dedication of our volunteers.

I am extremely proud to be part of the group and honoured to work alongside a fantastic team of people delivering a first-rate service for the people of Cumbria and helping our NHS and the Great North Air Ambulance.”