A LOCAL man is using retirement to help two great causes in his community.

Steve Moir (pictured above) is the chairman of Experts in Property, a network of independent estate agents throughout the South West.

But having stopped working as an active estate agent around a year ago, Steve has turned his attention to volunteering – first of all via the NHS Responder app, which links people up with others shielding who need help with prescriptions and shopping.

This month Steve, 63, has taken on two new roles: one with Cornwall Blood Bikes, and the other at his local NHS COVID-19 vaccination centre.

Steve says he’s ridden motorcycles for several years and has been interested in becoming a Cornwall Blood Biker for a while. Over the last year, he took the advanced motorcycling course and test, and then was able, between lockdowns, to attend an induction and join the organisation.

Established in 2012, Cornwall Blood Bikes is a registered charity providing a free delivery service to Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust outside the normal operating hours of regular NHS transport services.

With 15 police-spec motorcycles and a team of volunteers on call from 5pm to 7am on weekdays and 24 hours a day over weekends and bank holidays, the service provides urgent transportation of blood, drugs, samples, specimens and other medical requirements between NHS hospitals and hospices, clinics and laboratories for midwives, nurses, doctors and other specialists. The service has recently expanded to include COVID-19 tests.

The volunteers are required to be qualified advanced motorcyclists and to have received bespoke training in relation to sample handling and procedures.

Steve, who lives in Golberdon, between Pensilva and Callington, said: “Since I retired as an active estate agent over a year ago, I have wanted to do something to help others, and I enjoy riding motorbikes, so volunteering for Cornwall Blood Bikes was a no-brainer for me.

“The advanced course and the training were extremely worthwhile – even after riding for years, I learned so much.

Pleased

“It’s a crucial time for all charities without much chance for fundraising lately, and the Cornwall Blood Bikes are entirely self-funded, so I’m pleased to be able to help.”

Steve’s other new role is as a volunteer at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Millennium House in Pensilva. The centre covers the patients of seven doctors’ surgeries and in the last few weeks has given jabs to up to 700 people per day. Working in shifts, the volunteers work as parking attendants and help the elderly in and out of the centre, managing the efficient flow of vaccinees while ensuring social distancing guidelines are met.

Steve has to be tested for the coronavirus every four days. He said: “The vaccination centre is in full flow. The speed in which it was rolled out and the sheer scale of it is phenomenal, and despite the strain they are all under, the NHS vaccination staff are all so cheerful.

“The elderly people arriving for their vaccines come in very nervous, but it’s certainly rewarding to see the smiles on their faces when they leave having had it.”