A team of BEEP doctors and friends are to cycle 260 miles around Cumbria to raise awareness of the area they now cover and the charity that supports them.
The cyclists will depart at 9am on July 16 from Penrith, at the Health Centre on Bridge Lane where the BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria charity started out, before finishing on July 20 at their new headquarters, situated in the NFU Building, on Cromwell Road, in Penrith.
Route:
Day 1: Penrith HC to Sedbergh via Langwathby, Dufton, Appleby, Kirkby Stephen etc;
Day 2: Sedbergh to Ulverston, stopping at, Duke of Cumberland in Kendal, for lunch;
Day 3: Ulverston to Gosforth, via Broughton & Eskdale;
Day 4: Gosforth to Silloth, along the coastal cycle route;
Day 5: Silloth to Bowness/Carlisle/Warwick Bridge/Kirkoswald and back to Penrith.
People from across the county have been offering support in terms of stop-off points for lunch and accommodation to the team, and the cyclists are hoping to rally support and raise more money along the way.
At the beginning of 2021 BEEP Doctors (BASICS) Cumbria launched a fundraising campaign to raise £145,000, which will go towards the costs of keeping this vital emergency service running,
Dr Theo Weston, chairman of the BEEP Doctors charity and lead cyclist said: “It’s the first time we’ve set ourselves such a huge fundraising goal. We’ve managed to get by over the years on donations, but as we have expanded, so too have our costs.
“We began over 25 years ago and there were only a couple of doctors responding in the Penrith area. However, now we have 15 volunteer doctors and cover the whole of Cumbria. This means our costs have also gone up, as each doctor needs equipment and training to ensure we can provide the best pre-hospital care to patients.”
Each doctor carries a basic amount of equipment, which they need to attend callouts. The more serious the incident they attend, the more advanced equipment they need to monitor patients, perform lifesaving surgery or anaesthetise patients before they are taken to hospital.
On-call 24/7
The doctors are all unpaid and are on-call 24/7 – even during the pandemic when many of them have been working in hospitals and the local community. The BEEP Doctors are not funded by the NHS, so donations, fundraising events and grants keep the charity going and buy the vital equipment they need.
The BEEP Doctors have raised more than 92 per cent of their target so far but want to accomplish their goal whilst undertaking the cycle event and at the same time publicising the charity and their crucial lifesaving work.
Dr Weston added: “The support we have received from donors so far this year has been amazing, and it has already meant we have been able to buy lots of new equipment to get more doctors on the road saving lives.
“It would be truly amazing if we can smash our target whilst we’re out cycling and raise as much money as possible. I’m sure it’ll help us get up those hills we’re facing!”
The BEEP Doctors are welcoming anyone else who would like to join them on the cycle ride, for the whole or just part of their journey, and for anyone to support them along the way or even “BEEP” their horn if they see them out on the road.
If you would like to donate you can via the link below. All donations will go towards our running costs and the campaign to raise £145,000 in 2021 – find out more here
