The Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg has five new cargo bikes that are hardly inferior to an ambulance. Almost every day someone becomes unwell in or around the two locations of the Tilburg hospital. Lives are literally saved with the resuscitation bike ‘Bike for Life’.
If you become unwell, the hospital seems like the best possible place. However, hospitals are often so large that it can still take some time before specialist help is available. A few years ago, the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) in Tilburg therefore introduced the ‘Bike for Life’.
When the Rapid Response Team (RRT) receives a report from a visitor or patient who is unwell, the nurse jumps on his bicycle. “That can be here in the hallway, but also the parking lot or the Leijpark,” explains IC team leader Joost Driessen.
Until recently, the ‘Bike for Life’ was a tricycle, but it was not quite to my liking. “More and more medical equipment was added, it was heavy and not so manoeuvrable. We were exhausted when we arrived at the emergency,” Joost says with a laugh.
Nevertheless, the tricycle was already an improvement, according to Joost, because in the past it was necessary to tow with trolleys, oxygen and equipment. “You sometimes see that in hospital series and my predecessors were done with that.”
With a large wish list they worked on a cargo bike. It is much lighter, can carry more, has eight gears and is also much easier to drive. And passing through the corridors of the hospital between people is no superfluous luxury.
The bike may look a bit cool, Joost also admits, but the ‘Bike for Life’ is anything but a joke. “On average, we receive one report a day. That can be someone who has fallen, but also someone with a blood sugar level that is too low or a cardiac arrest.”
Nurses from the intensive care (IC) and Emergency Department (ED) ride the resuscitation bicycle. “These are the healthcare providers who deal with medical emergencies on a daily basis and who are used to acting very quickly,” explains Joost. When they arrive at the emergency site, a doctor is in charge and when the nurse arrives, they stabilize the patient together.
The five bicycles are parked at the IC and A&E, where the medical specialists who ride them are, such as Joost. “In those departments, all the help is available with the well-known trolleys, but you won’t be dragging them around the entire hospital quickly. That’s why we use that bicycle.”
With the new ‘Bike for Life’ emergency aid can be provided even faster and better and that is what matters. “We are the only one in the Netherlands with these cargo bikes and there is interest from other hospitals,” says Joost proudly. He therefore hopes that the ‘Bike for Life’ will soon be available in other places.