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WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT…? SAVE A LIFE?’
Someone in SERV Wessex probably did.
At their May meeting, the Basingstoke Ladies Probus Club listened in awe to Rob Harris, a volunteer blood driver, detail the service of S(ervice by)E(mergency)R(ider)V Wessex, the voluntary emergency rider charity better known as “Blood Bikes”.
Operating 365 days a year across East Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, SERV Wessex provides an essential out-of-hours courier service for NHS hospitals and healthcare providers. Staffed entirely by unpaid male and female volunteers, the charity transports vital medical supplies between hospitals, dialysis units, laboratories and emergency response teams, including Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA).
Items carried include blood, plasma and platelets, pathology samples, medication, frozen donor human milk and essential medical equipment.
Originally formed in 2019 to support Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, SERV Wessex received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021 in recognition of its support to the NHS during the pandemic.
Today, around 95 volunteers — riders, drivers, dispatchers, fundraisers and administrators — give their time free of charge. Most use their own vehicles, supported by a small charity fleet of marked motorcycles and cars.
Volunteer dispatchers work from home coordinating deliveries, monitoring weather and road conditions, and liaising with hospitals and partner Blood Bike groups when inter-county transfers are required.
In 2025 alone, SERV Wessex covered more than 139,000 miles, completed around 2,300 delivery jobs and transported approximately 3,800 medical items, saving the NHS an estimated £185,000 in courier costs.
Annual operating costs are approximately £50,000, with an additional £25,000 required every four years for vehicle replacement and fleet renewal. The charity relies entirely on public fundraising via community events, supermarket collections and local group talks, grant applications and online donation schemes to maintain its life-saving services.
As the leaflet asks: ‘What did you do last night?’ The Ladies Probus Club felt very humbled…
Yet another fascinating monthly talk, combined with the BCoT restaurant’s delicious lunch offering.
For more information and enquiries about possible membership, please contact: Admin Secretary: reverendjane@hotmail.co.uk – 07754 296994
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