The Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes group has welcomed the use of telematics on its motorcycle fleet.

Following a donation of telematics units from Trakm8, Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes, which now also covers the Cheshire region, has had the system units installed since January.

The group, which is believed to cover the largest geographical area of any Blood Bikes group in the UK, said the trackers have provided a major boost in efficiency, safety and security.

By having telematics installed, the Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes are able to provide ETAs to both hospitals and other Blood Bike groups which consequently results in faster transportation of vital resources to hospitals nationwide.

Paul Collyer, group leader of the SSBB, said: “Being able to pinpoint the whereabouts of the fleet is absolutely vital to us in terms of informing hospitals and colleagues at other blood bike groups who we may be relaying consignments with. We are able to tell if riders have hit traffic and are filtering, enabling us to provide highly accurate ETAs. Trakm8’s devices also help drastically in making sure that we make the best use of our resource.

“Being able to provide a constantly updated ETA to the controller which is something I could never have done without the trackers fitted to the bikes. The trackers have made a huge difference to the efficiency of deliveries across all of the groups.”

Debbie Jones, support services care group director at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “On a regular basis we need to transport samples, sometimes urgently, between Shrewsbury and Telford, and occasionally from here in Shropshire to Birmingham. In the past it has been quite difficult, out of hours, to get those samples moving quickly.

“It’s made a huge difference to us to be able to rely on blood bikes to get those samples moving for us.

“Potentially they are helping to save lives. There are certainly times when the quicker we can get results back, the better the chances are for patients.

“And, at the same time, they are saving the NHS lots of money. We very much appreciate all of their efforts and the support they give us and the wider NHS.”

John Watkins, executive chairman of Trakm8, said: “Often the efforts of Blood Bikes group’s slips under the radar so it is fantastic to hear that our devices can make such a huge difference to the daily operations of this fantastic charity.”