22/10/2026
DHU Healthcare has match-funded one if its Director's efforts to raise more than £2,000 for Derbyshire Blood Bikes.
DHU Director of Urgent and Emergency Care Derbyshire, Kirsty Osborn, ran the 26.2 mile Edinburgh Marathon during one of the summer heatwaves to raise money for the life-saving charity that directly supports some of the care DHU provides.
Kirsty managed to raise more than £1,000 for the vital charitable service, a total that was matched by DHU’s Social Impact Committee to enabled Kirsty to present a total of £2,200 to Derbyshire Blood Bikes.
An essential service...
Kirsty told us: “It’s a tough run at the best of times with temperatures heading towards 30 degrees Celsius, it was incredibly tough. At DHU we know all about Derbyshire Blood Bikes, we use their services in our urgent care division and we are well aware that they provide an essential service, not just for us but for many of our health partners, helping our patients get the care they need faster.
“During weekends and bank holidays in particular, standard transport services are not always available and we rely on Derbyshire Blood Bikes volunteers to support the transport of blood samples to local hospitals. With the cost of fuel rising alongside other costs, they need financial support more than ever and it’s thanks to their riders that we are able to speed up diagnostics and maintain continuity of care for our patients.”
Mark Vallis is Operations Manager for Derbyshire Blood Bikes, he added: “Our service was set up precisely to support health providers like DHU in the care they give to patients. We know that more people are accessing care than ever before and we want to do all that we can to support that provision of care in our communities.
"All the difference..."
“We are always delighted when someone joins the effort to support our service in this way and the timing could not be better. Our fuel costs are around twenty percent up on last year and as a charitable organisation we carry out more than 8,000 journeys that supports the diagnosis and treatment of over 120,000 patients every year including transfusion products, diagnostic samples, medication or donor breast milk. Donations such as this make all the difference to us and it helps to keep the awareness of what we do and who we are in the public eye.’
As a not-for profit, Community Interest Company, DHU is committed to supporting local communities and projects that have a social impact. Derbyshire Blood Bikes’ work as a medical courier helps to ensure that essential items are delivered quickly and safely across the region, including diagnostic samples, medication, blood and blood products from some of DHU’s services.
Helping such a worthwhile and potentially life-saving cause is part of DHU’s responsibility and actions as a Community Interest Company and we’re delighted to be able to support Derbyshire Blood Bikes in this way.
Pictured above from left to right: Mark Vallis - Derbyshire Blood Bikes Operational Manager, Kirsty Osborn - DHU Director of Urgent and Emergency Care Derbyshire, Stephen Bateman - DHU Chief Executive and Nicky Lloyd - DHU Chief Commercial Officer and Chair of DHU Social Impact Committee.
