The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital welcomed Norfolk Blood Bikes and East Anglian Mark Master Masons to the hospital, who were presented with the keys to a new Ford Kuga hybrid car by David Boswell, Provincial Grand Master.
An official naming ceremony took place after the car had been purchased with funds received from The Mark Benevolent Fund (MBF) as part of a larger grant of £694,615 to 31 different Blood Bike Charities across the country to enable them to purchase new motorcycles and cars.
The ceremony was also attended by hospital staff from the main departments that Norfolk Blood Bikes serve - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the transfusions and pathology laboratory.
This car, to be named ‘Mark Mason’ is a replacement for their original ‘Mark Mason’ which was donated to them in 2017 and has clocked up over 115,000 miles in their service and still going strong. The older car will be retained in the fleet under a new name.
‘Mark Mason’ will become part of a fleet of seven cars and fifteen motor cycles which, collectively, cover over 140,000 miles each year serving the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, the James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth and wider community in Norfolk, delivering urgent blood and blood products, medical samples and equipment between hospitals and collecting and delivering large volumes of donated breast milk.
Sandy Gourlay, Norfolk Blood Bikes Chairman, said: "We are immensely grateful to the Mark Benevolent Fund for this generous donation. Having an additional car available to our dedicated volunteers, means that we can respond more quickly to those urgent requests for larger quantities. The cars also come into their own during the winter months when weather conditions might mean it may not be safe to operate motorcycles."
David Boswell added on behalf of the Mark Master Masons, “It was a pleasure to hand over the keys of the new car, continuing our help to this great charity so local hospitals and the community can benefit from the blook bike service.”