## SERV Herts and Beds Annual Report – 1ST JANUARY 2023 31ST DECEMBER 2023
SERV HERTS & BEDS CHARITY NUMBER 1180326
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
|Contents||
|---|---|
|Brief History of SERV Herts & Beds|2|
|Charity Status, Structure, Membership and Trustees|2|
|Financials and Legal|3|
|Recruitment, Assessments & Training of Volunteers|4|
|Processes and Procedures|5|
|Record of Tasks Performed January 2022 – December 2022|5|
|Significant Events for 2022|9|
|Financial Statement 2022|10|
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 1
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Brief History of SERV Herts & Beds**
The charity was set up in 2009 as part of the SERV Central Group, which was registered under the number 284455. The first hospital to use the services offered was Bedford. In 2015, the independent charity was set up in its own right as SERV Herts and Beds, finally gaining registration with the Charities Commission on 26[th] October 2015. In October 2018, a further change was made as SERV Herts and Beds became a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO), and registered under the new number 1180326
The Objective of SERV Herts & Beds remains as:
_The relief of sickness and protection of health through the provision of a courier service to transport blood, human donor milk, samples and other items used for the medical and surgical treatment of patients for doctors, hospitals, and laboratories and to co-operate with the emergency services._
All activities undertaken by the Charity are aligned with and directed towards achieving this objective.
- Ensuring that a current Service Level Agreement (SLA) is in place with each establishment served.
- Recruiting and training enough numbers of suitably skilled volunteers to support the required level of service.
- Raising sufficient funds to provide necessary training and equipment.
- Continuously monitoring performance against agreements.
## **Charity Status, Structure, Membership and Trustees**
Name of Charity: SERV Herts & Beds, Charity Registration Number: 1180326. The registered Address being 53 Wroxham Way, Harpenden, Herts AL5 4PR
SERV Herts & Beds is an independent registered charity and uses the SERV logotype with the agreement and permission of SERV, registered charity number 284455.
New Trustees, when required, can be recruited from the body of the membership, and may already be members of the Committee. As of the date of this report, the Committee and the Trustees are as follows:
## **Trustees**
|Chair|Mark Lawrence|Deputy|Ian Hunt|
|---|---|---|---|
|Trustee|Nick Bailey|Trustee|Andy Cowley|
|Trustee|Peter Nunn|Trustee|Paula Brown|
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 2
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Committee**
|Chair|Ian Hunt|Controller|Barbara Dalby|
|---|---|---|---|
|Secretary|Andy Cowley|IT|Paul Rousell|
|Deputy Chair|Vacant|Events|Dan Collins|
|Treasurer|Nick Bailey|Fleet|Ian Defoe|
|Membership|Paula Brown|GMP/SOP|Peter Nunn|
|Rota|Jon Gillon|Hospital Liaison|Ron McMurdie|
|Training|Duncan Woods|Legislation and Safety|Mark Lawrence|
|Milk Coordinator|John McCombe|Membership Liaison|Cem Ulutuncel|
There are no special procedures for induction and training of Trustees, the Charity is uncomplicated in concept and operation, and mostly Trustees are recruited from amongst the Membership, a simple approval by the Committee and ratification at the AGM is considered sufficient.
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charities Commission in exercising their powers or duties.
The Charity consists of around 130 Rider/Drivers who collect and deliver products. There are 36 trained Controllers who despatch and direct the Rider/Drivers. The structure is completely flat.
A Committee was elected at the 2022, re-elected at the 2023 Annual General Meeting to run the dayto-day business of the Charity, with the officers as listed above.
The Committee meets monthly on the fourth Thursday to report on, and discuss, the running of the Charity. The fourth Thursday in October is set aside for the Annual General Meeting. At these meetings, expenditure proposals are debated, and if approved, actioned to individuals. Minutes of each meeting are recorded and approved each month.
Day-to-day decisions regarding the running of the Charity are taken by the Executive Committee. Any decisions with substantial financial or legal implications require approval by a majority of the Trustees.
## **Financials and Legal**
Funding of around 1.5 times annual expenditure is held in the deposit account of the Charity as a prudent reserve to cover the irregular nature of donations. The Finance Statement is attached to this report as Appendix A. The Trustees consider the reserves held at the time of this report to be satisfactory.
SERV Herts & Beds has appointed as its bank CAF Bank Limited, Charity Number 26836925, Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
SERV Herts & Beds has appointed as its Independent Examiner since 25[th] February 2016 David Wildey, 9 Waverley Road, St Albans, AL3 5PB. David is also a member of SERV Herts & Beds.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 3
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
SERV Herts & Beds raises funds to support training and equipping its volunteers. However, the Charity is totally dependent on its volunteers for delivery of its objective. Specifically, volunteers:
- Provide their own vehicle(s) in addition to the 5 Charity-owned motorcycles and 2 Charity Owned cars
- Pay all their own running costs, except when using Fleet Vehicles
- Donate their time for rota duties, Committee tasks and for fund-raising events
SERV Herts & Beds has no paid staff, and there is no intent currently for that to change.
SERV Herts & Beds running expenditure averages £19,000 - £22,000 per annum, with income around £20,000 - £35,000. Income is made up of individual donations and donations from organisations, supermarket & event collections and donation income from talks and presentations to interest groups around the charity’s region.
## **Recruitment, Assessments & Training of Volunteers**
Anyone can apply for membership of the Charity. If they wish to take part in collection and delivery of NHS and Hospice materials, then they must have held a full driving licence for the class of vehicle they propose to use, for at least 2 years. They must also pass such practical and theoretical examinations and assessments as the Trustees deem necessary.
SERV Herts and Beds continually strive to recruit new members, as drivers, riders, and as Controllers or in administrative roles.
Specifically, for riders and drivers, a new member will undertake GMP training, Route Training and then be accompanied on a first ride by an experienced ‘Buddy’.
Details of training are contained within the Members Handbook.
On joining SERV Herts and Beds, and once a year, in signing the ‘Rules of Engagement’ a Rider/Driver is accepting the level of training/support provided and agreeing to the following statement:
_I declare the information given is correct to the best of my knowledge. I accept that it is my responsibility to ensure that my vehicles are road legal at all times, and have current and appropriate insurance, road tax and MOT, and that I am the holder of a current driving licence._
_I understand that the final decision to undertake a task is with me as the rider/driver._
The purpose of the Route Training and also ‘Buddy’ rider session is to ensure that the volunteer can demonstrate confidence in handling their vehicle:
- According to speed limits and other legal requirements laid out in the Highway Code, in a range of road and traffic situations
- In a manner that is courteous to other road users
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 4
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
- In a manner that presents a positive view of SERV to the general public, and the hospitals we are serving
- Is able to secure boxes safely and securely
- See evidence of a roadworthy and a well-maintained vehicle
- See the use of adequate protective clothing.
## **Processes and Procedures**
All regular journeys for SERV Herts & Beds collections and deliveries have a specified route and a rider/driver who is called out will join the prescribed route at the nearest point to his/her house and leave in the same manner when returning home.
Prescribed routes have been carefully selected with the safety of the rider – and the blood being carried – as the key priority. Wherever possible, routes are over main roads, which are:
- Well lit
- Expected to be a priority for maintenance in circumstances such as snow and other adverse weather
- Expected to keep the rider/driver away from potential ‘trouble spots’ such as football grounds or night clubs
- Ensure ease of locating a rider/driver, in the event of breakdown or accident, by another SERV rider, or the emergency services.
All processes and procedures are written and shared in the Member’s Handbook
## **Record of Tasks Performed January 2023 – December 2023**
SERV have continued to provide H24 support to NHS Hospitals, local Hospices, and the Hearts Milk Bank.
There has again been record growth year on year in the number of tasks undertaken until 2022, against the very challenging pandemic the country has faced, increasing fuel and cost of living prices and other external factors. For 2023 the increase has leveled out, and in fact fallen a little compared to 2022.
The tasks performed were distributed as follows:
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 5
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Hospital Deliveries for Blood and Sample Services**
As an overall average the group fell just short of 2022 levels.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 6
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
There has been steady growth in most of the products carried, and also the carriage of samples and specimens.
A shift in the time of the day when requests are made is also apparent, the calls used to be predominantly at night, but that has steadily changed. In 2023, around two thirds of requests have been in the daytime.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 7
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
The increase in work load has put pressure on our resources. The increase continued through 2021 but through steady recruitment has levelled out and dropped slightly since then. Towards the end of the 2023 year, we have been successful recruiting new members and that increase in work load has started to level off.
Membership levels have grown, during 2022 the group received a lot of new applications, though a number of current members also had to retire from SERV as normal working patterns began to resume post pandemic.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 8
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **Significant Events for 2023**
2023 was a year of stability and continuity in many ways. The Pandemic had passed, recruitment was increasing, and our skill sets were growing and members became more flexible about the tasks they were able to undertake.
The following are points of note for 2023.
- Fuel price rises continued to take effect but the increase in Fleet Vehicles allowed us to offset a part of that for the membership.
- The fleet grew to 5 bikes and 2 cars, with the addition of the first ‘none Yamaha’ motorcycle to the fleet. A BMW R1200RT became the model of choice after Yamaha ceased production of the Yamaha FJR
- A Summer heatwave once again made use of motorcycles much more challenging, and at times impossible.
## **NABB Membership**
It was unanimously decided to leave the NABB Nationwide Association of Bloodbikes in 2023, as their priorities began to become very different from our own. NABB were investing heavily in promoting the use of Blue Lights, a process SERV Herts and Beds was never going to consider. Also, NABB became very focused on the use of a single bike that was deemed to be unsuitable for our type of operation. A number of other concern areas around communication and support were also discussed.
During the later months of 2023 there was significant turbulence in the NABB Committee, that ended with sudden departure of key personnel, including the Chair.
SERV Herts and Beds still very much supports the principal of a singe body to support all groups, and the hope is that one day soon we can rejoin. The Committee structure however is even at this stage (Feb 24) still be discussed, so SERV Herts and Beds will wait the outcome.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 9
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Financial Statement 2023**
The following SERV Herts & Beds Receipts and Payments account reflects a financial period starting on 01/01/2023 and ending 31/12/2023
Fundraising in 2023 has been very successful despite the challenges following the pandemic. Fundraising activity comprises a combination of cash collection outside selected supermarkets, individual donations and money raised from giving a number of talks about the charity’s activities.
Regular expenditure comprises purchasing bespoke clothing (motorcycle jackets etc.), promotional material and vehicle running costs.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 10
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
||
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|No (if any)|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**1180326**||
||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||||
||**For the period**
**from**||Period start date
01/01/2023|**To**
|Period end date
31/12/2023||
||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Restricted funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|
DONATIONS|**32,493**||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**32,493**|**43,545**
**966**
**7,560**
**3,954**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|MEMBERS CLOTHING DONATIONS|**-**||**-**||**-**||
|FUNDRAISING EVENTS|**6,747**||**-**||**6,747**||
|VAT REFUNDS & INTEREST ON DEPOSIT
A/C|**5,681**||**-**||**5,681**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**44,921**||**-**|**-**|**44,921**|**56,025**|
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
||**-**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
||||**-**|**-**|**44,921**|**56,025**|
||||||||
|
COST OF FUNDRAISING EVENTS AND
VEHICLE RUNNING COSTS|**21,457**||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**21,457**|**12,297**
**305**
**8,502**
**6,162**
**340**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|RENT/HIRE OF ROOMS, STORAGE &
CATERING|**898**||**-**||**898**||
|CLOTHING AND TRAINING|**4,282**||**-**||**4,282**||
|PROFESSIONAL FEES, DBS CHECKS AND
INSURANCE|**6,384**||**-**||**6,384**||
|PRINTING, POSTAGE, STATIONERY,
COMPUTER SUPPLIES, AND
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL|**716**||**-**||**716**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_ **|**33,737**||**-**|**-**|**33,737**|**27,606**|
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
|PURCHASE OF MOTORCAR|**20,133**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**20,133**||
|PURCHASE OF MOTORCYCLE|**19,237**||**-**||**19,237**||
|**_Sub total_ **|**39,370**||**-**|**-**|**39,370**|**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
||||**-**|**-**|**73,107**|**27,606**|
||||||||
||**- 28,186**||**-**|
**-**|
**- 28,186**|**28,419**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**
**33,960**|
||**62,379**||**-**||**62,379**||
||**34,193**||**-**|
**-**|**34,193**|**62,379**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
09/03/2024
1
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 11
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS
**Details**
**Details**
FIVE MOTORCYCLES
TWO MOTORCARS
COMPUTERS, PROJECTORS & OTHER
OTHER EQUIPMENT
JACKETS, BOX COVERS & STRAPS
GAZEBOS, LAASER ID CARD PRINTER &
OTHER EQUIPMENT
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**3,137**
**-**
**31,056**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**34,193**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**78,397**
**39,683**
**2,680**
**3,136**
**3,388**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Nick Bailey
Ian Hunt|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**33,000**|
||||**27,000**|
||||**250**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of approval|
||||10/3/23|
||||10/3/23|
|||||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 1
09/03/2024
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 12
## SERV Herts and Beds Annual Report – 1ST JANUARY 2023 31ST DECEMBER 2023
SERV HERTS & BEDS CHARITY NUMBER 1180326
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
|Contents||
|---|---|
|Brief History of SERV Herts & Beds|2|
|Charity Status, Structure, Membership and Trustees|2|
|Financials and Legal|3|
|Recruitment, Assessments & Training of Volunteers|4|
|Processes and Procedures|5|
|Record of Tasks Performed January 2022 – December 2022|5|
|Significant Events for 2022|9|
|Financial Statement 2022|10|
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 1
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Brief History of SERV Herts & Beds**
The charity was set up in 2009 as part of the SERV Central Group, which was registered under the number 284455. The first hospital to use the services offered was Bedford. In 2015, the independent charity was set up in its own right as SERV Herts and Beds, finally gaining registration with the Charities Commission on 26[th] October 2015. In October 2018, a further change was made as SERV Herts and Beds became a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO), and registered under the new number 1180326
The Objective of SERV Herts & Beds remains as:
_The relief of sickness and protection of health through the provision of a courier service to transport blood, human donor milk, samples and other items used for the medical and surgical treatment of patients for doctors, hospitals, and laboratories and to co-operate with the emergency services._
All activities undertaken by the Charity are aligned with and directed towards achieving this objective.
- Ensuring that a current Service Level Agreement (SLA) is in place with each establishment served.
- Recruiting and training enough numbers of suitably skilled volunteers to support the required level of service.
- Raising sufficient funds to provide necessary training and equipment.
- Continuously monitoring performance against agreements.
## **Charity Status, Structure, Membership and Trustees**
Name of Charity: SERV Herts & Beds, Charity Registration Number: 1180326. The registered Address being 53 Wroxham Way, Harpenden, Herts AL5 4PR
SERV Herts & Beds is an independent registered charity and uses the SERV logotype with the agreement and permission of SERV, registered charity number 284455.
New Trustees, when required, can be recruited from the body of the membership, and may already be members of the Committee. As of the date of this report, the Committee and the Trustees are as follows:
## **Trustees**
|Chair|Mark Lawrence|Deputy|Ian Hunt|
|---|---|---|---|
|Trustee|Nick Bailey|Trustee|Andy Cowley|
|Trustee|Peter Nunn|Trustee|Paula Brown|
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 2
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Committee**
|Chair|Ian Hunt|Controller|Barbara Dalby|
|---|---|---|---|
|Secretary|Andy Cowley|IT|Paul Rousell|
|Deputy Chair|Vacant|Events|Dan Collins|
|Treasurer|Nick Bailey|Fleet|Ian Defoe|
|Membership|Paula Brown|GMP/SOP|Peter Nunn|
|Rota|Jon Gillon|Hospital Liaison|Ron McMurdie|
|Training|Duncan Woods|Legislation and Safety|Mark Lawrence|
|Milk Coordinator|John McCombe|Membership Liaison|Cem Ulutuncel|
There are no special procedures for induction and training of Trustees, the Charity is uncomplicated in concept and operation, and mostly Trustees are recruited from amongst the Membership, a simple approval by the Committee and ratification at the AGM is considered sufficient.
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charities Commission in exercising their powers or duties.
The Charity consists of around 130 Rider/Drivers who collect and deliver products. There are 36 trained Controllers who despatch and direct the Rider/Drivers. The structure is completely flat.
A Committee was elected at the 2022, re-elected at the 2023 Annual General Meeting to run the dayto-day business of the Charity, with the officers as listed above.
The Committee meets monthly on the fourth Thursday to report on, and discuss, the running of the Charity. The fourth Thursday in October is set aside for the Annual General Meeting. At these meetings, expenditure proposals are debated, and if approved, actioned to individuals. Minutes of each meeting are recorded and approved each month.
Day-to-day decisions regarding the running of the Charity are taken by the Executive Committee. Any decisions with substantial financial or legal implications require approval by a majority of the Trustees.
## **Financials and Legal**
Funding of around 1.5 times annual expenditure is held in the deposit account of the Charity as a prudent reserve to cover the irregular nature of donations. The Finance Statement is attached to this report as Appendix A. The Trustees consider the reserves held at the time of this report to be satisfactory.
SERV Herts & Beds has appointed as its bank CAF Bank Limited, Charity Number 26836925, Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
SERV Herts & Beds has appointed as its Independent Examiner since 25[th] February 2016 David Wildey, 9 Waverley Road, St Albans, AL3 5PB. David is also a member of SERV Herts & Beds.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 3
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
SERV Herts & Beds raises funds to support training and equipping its volunteers. However, the Charity is totally dependent on its volunteers for delivery of its objective. Specifically, volunteers:
- Provide their own vehicle(s) in addition to the 5 Charity-owned motorcycles and 2 Charity Owned cars
- Pay all their own running costs, except when using Fleet Vehicles
- Donate their time for rota duties, Committee tasks and for fund-raising events
SERV Herts & Beds has no paid staff, and there is no intent currently for that to change.
SERV Herts & Beds running expenditure averages £19,000 - £22,000 per annum, with income around £20,000 - £35,000. Income is made up of individual donations and donations from organisations, supermarket & event collections and donation income from talks and presentations to interest groups around the charity’s region.
## **Recruitment, Assessments & Training of Volunteers**
Anyone can apply for membership of the Charity. If they wish to take part in collection and delivery of NHS and Hospice materials, then they must have held a full driving licence for the class of vehicle they propose to use, for at least 2 years. They must also pass such practical and theoretical examinations and assessments as the Trustees deem necessary.
SERV Herts and Beds continually strive to recruit new members, as drivers, riders, and as Controllers or in administrative roles.
Specifically, for riders and drivers, a new member will undertake GMP training, Route Training and then be accompanied on a first ride by an experienced ‘Buddy’.
Details of training are contained within the Members Handbook.
On joining SERV Herts and Beds, and once a year, in signing the ‘Rules of Engagement’ a Rider/Driver is accepting the level of training/support provided and agreeing to the following statement:
_I declare the information given is correct to the best of my knowledge. I accept that it is my responsibility to ensure that my vehicles are road legal at all times, and have current and appropriate insurance, road tax and MOT, and that I am the holder of a current driving licence._
_I understand that the final decision to undertake a task is with me as the rider/driver._
The purpose of the Route Training and also ‘Buddy’ rider session is to ensure that the volunteer can demonstrate confidence in handling their vehicle:
- According to speed limits and other legal requirements laid out in the Highway Code, in a range of road and traffic situations
- In a manner that is courteous to other road users
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 4
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
- In a manner that presents a positive view of SERV to the general public, and the hospitals we are serving
- Is able to secure boxes safely and securely
- See evidence of a roadworthy and a well-maintained vehicle
- See the use of adequate protective clothing.
## **Processes and Procedures**
All regular journeys for SERV Herts & Beds collections and deliveries have a specified route and a rider/driver who is called out will join the prescribed route at the nearest point to his/her house and leave in the same manner when returning home.
Prescribed routes have been carefully selected with the safety of the rider – and the blood being carried – as the key priority. Wherever possible, routes are over main roads, which are:
- Well lit
- Expected to be a priority for maintenance in circumstances such as snow and other adverse weather
- Expected to keep the rider/driver away from potential ‘trouble spots’ such as football grounds or night clubs
- Ensure ease of locating a rider/driver, in the event of breakdown or accident, by another SERV rider, or the emergency services.
All processes and procedures are written and shared in the Member’s Handbook
## **Record of Tasks Performed January 2023 – December 2023**
SERV have continued to provide H24 support to NHS Hospitals, local Hospices, and the Hearts Milk Bank.
There has again been record growth year on year in the number of tasks undertaken until 2022, against the very challenging pandemic the country has faced, increasing fuel and cost of living prices and other external factors. For 2023 the increase has leveled out, and in fact fallen a little compared to 2022.
The tasks performed were distributed as follows:
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 5
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Hospital Deliveries for Blood and Sample Services**
As an overall average the group fell just short of 2022 levels.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 6
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
There has been steady growth in most of the products carried, and also the carriage of samples and specimens.
A shift in the time of the day when requests are made is also apparent, the calls used to be predominantly at night, but that has steadily changed. In 2023, around two thirds of requests have been in the daytime.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 7
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
The increase in work load has put pressure on our resources. The increase continued through 2021 but through steady recruitment has levelled out and dropped slightly since then. Towards the end of the 2023 year, we have been successful recruiting new members and that increase in work load has started to level off.
Membership levels have grown, during 2022 the group received a lot of new applications, though a number of current members also had to retire from SERV as normal working patterns began to resume post pandemic.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 8
**CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **Significant Events for 2023**
2023 was a year of stability and continuity in many ways. The Pandemic had passed, recruitment was increasing, and our skill sets were growing and members became more flexible about the tasks they were able to undertake.
The following are points of note for 2023.
- Fuel price rises continued to take effect but the increase in Fleet Vehicles allowed us to offset a part of that for the membership.
- The fleet grew to 5 bikes and 2 cars, with the addition of the first ‘none Yamaha’ motorcycle to the fleet. A BMW R1200RT became the model of choice after Yamaha ceased production of the Yamaha FJR
- A Summer heatwave once again made use of motorcycles much more challenging, and at times impossible.
## **NABB Membership**
It was unanimously decided to leave the NABB Nationwide Association of Bloodbikes in 2023, as their priorities began to become very different from our own. NABB were investing heavily in promoting the use of Blue Lights, a process SERV Herts and Beds was never going to consider. Also, NABB became very focused on the use of a single bike that was deemed to be unsuitable for our type of operation. A number of other concern areas around communication and support were also discussed.
During the later months of 2023 there was significant turbulence in the NABB Committee, that ended with sudden departure of key personnel, including the Chair.
SERV Herts and Beds still very much supports the principal of a singe body to support all groups, and the hope is that one day soon we can rejoin. The Committee structure however is even at this stage (Feb 24) still be discussed, so SERV Herts and Beds will wait the outcome.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 9
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Financial Statement 2023**
The following SERV Herts & Beds Receipts and Payments account reflects a financial period starting on 01/01/2023 and ending 31/12/2023
Fundraising in 2023 has been very successful despite the challenges following the pandemic. Fundraising activity comprises a combination of cash collection outside selected supermarkets, individual donations and money raised from giving a number of talks about the charity’s activities.
Regular expenditure comprises purchasing bespoke clothing (motorcycle jackets etc.), promotional material and vehicle running costs.
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 10
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
||
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|
**Charity name**
**SERV HERTS & BEDS**|No (if any)|**CC16a**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**1180326**||
||**Receipts and payments accounts**||||||
||**For the period**
**from**||Period start date
01/01/2023|**To**
|Period end date
31/12/2023||
||||||||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Restricted funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|
DONATIONS|**32,493**||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**32,493**|**43,545**
**966**
**7,560**
**3,954**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|MEMBERS CLOTHING DONATIONS|**-**||**-**||**-**||
|FUNDRAISING EVENTS|**6,747**||**-**||**6,747**||
|VAT REFUNDS & INTEREST ON DEPOSIT
A/C|**5,681**||**-**||**5,681**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**44,921**||**-**|**-**|**44,921**|**56,025**|
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
||**-**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
||||**-**|**-**|**44,921**|**56,025**|
||||||||
|
COST OF FUNDRAISING EVENTS AND
VEHICLE RUNNING COSTS|**21,457**||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**21,457**|**12,297**
**305**
**8,502**
**6,162**
**340**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|RENT/HIRE OF ROOMS, STORAGE &
CATERING|**898**||**-**||**898**||
|CLOTHING AND TRAINING|**4,282**||**-**||**4,282**||
|PROFESSIONAL FEES, DBS CHECKS AND
INSURANCE|**6,384**||**-**||**6,384**||
|PRINTING, POSTAGE, STATIONERY,
COMPUTER SUPPLIES, AND
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL|**716**||**-**||**716**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||
|**_Sub total_ **|**33,737**||**-**|**-**|**33,737**|**27,606**|
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
|PURCHASE OF MOTORCAR|**20,133**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**20,133**||
|PURCHASE OF MOTORCYCLE|**19,237**||**-**||**19,237**||
|**_Sub total_ **|**39,370**||**-**|**-**|**39,370**|**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
||||**-**|**-**|**73,107**|**27,606**|
||||||||
||**- 28,186**||**-**|
**-**|
**- 28,186**|**28,419**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**
**33,960**|
||**62,379**||**-**||**62,379**||
||**34,193**||**-**|
**-**|**34,193**|**62,379**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
09/03/2024
1
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 11
## **SERV Herts & Beds – The Bloodrunners**
## **CHARITY NO:** 1180326
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS
**Details**
**Details**
FIVE MOTORCYCLES
TWO MOTORCARS
COMPUTERS, PROJECTORS & OTHER
OTHER EQUIPMENT
JACKETS, BOX COVERS & STRAPS
GAZEBOS, LAASER ID CARD PRINTER &
OTHER EQUIPMENT
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**3,137**
**-**
**31,056**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**34,193**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which asset**
**belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**78,397**
**39,683**
**2,680**
**3,136**
**3,388**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Nick Bailey
Ian Hunt|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**33,000**|
||||**27,000**|
||||**250**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of approval|
||||10/3/23|
||||10/3/23|
|||||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 1
09/03/2024
SERV HNB Annual Report 2023.docx
Page 12
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