A COLLEGE lecturer who took up motorcycle lessons to help a charity’s ‘blood bike’ service is giving up her free time to co-ordinate a vital COVID-19 patient transport service.
Lucie Armstrong, from Coatbridge, usually helps LifeSavers Scotland to transport medical records and blood samples.
In the wake of the pandemic, however, the charity has stepped up to also transport patients, including those with coronavirus symptoms.
Lucie co-ordinates around 100 journeys every week to help patients who do not have their own transport to get to NHS Lanarkshire’s community assessment centres.
In addition to managing pick-ups and drop-offs for the service, Lucie is one of almost 30 regular volunteers who drive its four patient transport vehicles, which have been loaned to the charity by Arnold Clark.
The vehicles are fitted with a bulkhead partition to ensure driver and patient safety, and there is a strict cleaning regime between journeys.
The New College Lanarkshire lecturer began volunteering with the East Kilbride-based charity in March when she offered to provide free infection control sessions accredited by REHIS (Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) via Zoom.
Lucie said: “Now that LifeSavers Scotland is transporting people, my skills proved valuable because I could provide some of the infection control training they needed.
“There is a PPE box in the vehicle containing gloves, aprons, masks, clinical waste bags and so on, so the drivers are trained to show patients how to use these.”
She added: “I started doing some driving at the evenings and weekends, and that turned into being asked to take on the role of managing the Covid-19 24-hour bus transport service for Lanarkshire.
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“The four buses operate seven days-a-week and can collectively do 20 pick-ups a day. We can travel as far as Douglas and Biggar to pick up patients.”
The charity also runs a dedicated bus for patients undergoing treatment for cancer, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
At New College Lanarkshire, Lucie works with students with additional support needs who have an interest in working in the hospitality sector.
Prior to lockdown, Lucie started motorcycle lessons. She hopes to pass her second test soon, which would allow her eventually to drive one of the charity’s ‘blood bikes’.
“Volunteering with LifeSavers Scotland is so rewarding,” she said. “I like that I can bring my expertise to people who maybe didn’t know about sanitising or hand contact points, or how to reduce the possibility of transmitting infections.”
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She added: ““I have been able to help so many different people who could potentially put themselves or others at risk if they travel in a taxi or try to walk to get to an assessment centre.
“I am proud to be a part of this.”
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