Saving lives with The Severn Freewheelers
Ever since Shaun Mansbridge, Chief Financial Officer for Worcester Bosch passed his bike test in 2012, he has been passionate about motorcycles and he’s found they have become his favourite way of getting around.
When Shaun learnt about Blood Bikes, which support the NHS by transporting essential medical items, he realised he could combine his love of motorcycles and give something back to the community.
In his local area, he came across the Severn Freewheelers (SFW) who provide an out of hours service to the NHS around Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire. Their work includes transporting samples from hospitals to labs, including the National Blood Bank in Birmingham, as well as delivering medicines to patients houses on behalf of the wards.
Shaun’s journey began in August 2021 by undertaking advanced motorcycle training to qualify to ride a Blood Bike, which included four intensive training days with a serving police officer, the ROSPA advanced motorcycling test, hazardous materials training, and more. By May 2022, he was ready to undertake his first volunteering job – he has been volunteering with the Blood Bikes for fourteen months now.
When he volunteers, for between 12-24 hours at a time, his bike always stays with him. It is rare that a shift goes by without being called out. To date he has clocked up over 100 callouts for The Severn Freewheelers.
Speaking about his motivation for volunteering, Shaun said: “Having a focus in a busy lifestyle reminds me just how lucky I am to have my health and to be able to do something worthwhile for others, which I find personally very motivating. It takes commitment and effort to do this, but there are many moments that bring you back down to earth with a bump to make you think that life is something to enjoy and make the most of. It’s too easy to get bogged down in the stresses of life’s ups and downs.”
For Shaun, the most rewarding moments come when it’s late, dark, and experiencing adverse weather conditions and his morale begins to drop. Then he will get a call to urgently take something to Birmingham Children’s hospital, for example, and the surgeon and staff will be waiting for him. Delivering drugs to an end-of-life care home for patients younger than him is a reminder of how lucky he is with his life.
“My role is full on and busy however I find riding motorcycles, running, volunteering for SFW takes away stresses and puts life into perspective. Bosch is a great company, and the community at Worcester Bosch is full of passionate committed people, much like I meet in the NHS and SFW.”
