York

Kilometers for Oximeters

How GoodGym York have been helping keep their community safe during Covid-19

February 10, 2021

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Have your own GoodGym story to share with the community? Email getinvolved@goodgym.org and we'll be in touch.
Over the past couple of months, GoodGym has been working closely with York Centre for Voluntary Services (CVS) to help keep the community safe, delivering vital pieces of equipment to help those with Covid-19 who are at risk of developing severe side effects. One such piece of equipment is the oximeter, a small machine that measures how well a patient is breathing by detecting blood oxygen content. GoodGym runners across York have been braving the cold weather and snow to deliver these oximeters to those most in need. Two runners who have been making a lot of these missions happen are Dom and Abi.  Here, Dom writes about what he loves most about this new type of mission.

'Several days ago, I saw an article on BBC news about oximeters and their potential value in supporting people with coronavirus (and in supporting the teams working with them). It was great hearing about this, but there was a question mark about how very busy health services could get these handy devices out to people in the community who need them.

A few days later I was chuffed to see a new type of GoodGym mission being arranged in York, tapping into the energy and enthusiasm of GoodGym runners to fill in a gap. GoodGym missions are a varied bunch, but at their core they're usually about getting runners to cover an annoying gap that prevents something good from happening - like all the brilliant missions involving furniture moving to help people come home from hospital. 

Anyway, as new arrivals in York (who are still trying to get our bearings!), Abi and I saw these requests coming in from York CVS and jumped at the opportunity. By foot or by bike, it hasn't mattered - the devices come in light, tiny boxes (accompanied with an A4 booklet of instructions), and between the two of us we've managed to deliver half a dozen already. I've enjoyed these missions as they're quick and worthwhile, and have given me a reason to explore. On top of that, it's great to know that GoodGym runner can make an impact so easily.'

Dom and Abi out and about delivering oximeters
We also chatted to Stef Lambert from York CVS who GoodGym has been working closely with to coordinate these tasks. Here, Stef talks about her experience of working with GoodGym.

'The COVID-19 Monitoring Hub is a collaboration between the York Centre for Voluntary Services and Nimbuscare GP practices. Volunteers call people with suspected or confirmed COVID to see if they need any support from their GP practice or the voluntary sector. Volunteers have recently started to ask if patients would like to borrow pulse oximeters from their surgery so that they can monitor their blood-oxygen levels at home - the reason being that people with COVID-19's levels can drop dangerously low without their noticing. Where people have had no-one who can pick up and deliver the oximeter for them, we've been enlisting GoodGym volunteers. The process is surprisingly swift and smooth; GoodGym edit and publish the task quickly and there is a dedicated pool of volunteers who take up the deliveries. I like how much detail we get at each stage and also the symbiotic nature of the GoodGym model; it gives people a reason to run and is therefore mutually beneficial! Since we started arranging GoodGym oximeter deliveries, several people have been admitted to hospital on the basis of their readings, meaning that medical staff can intervene earlier and that they have a better chance of recovery, so the value of the service strikingly clear. My advice to anyone thinking of using GoodGym is to write as clear and informative a description as possible, letting them know the distances involved and the importance of the task.'

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Get involved
If you are part of an organisation looking for Covid-19 support, get in touch at missioncontrol@goodgym.org
If you're interested in finding tasks that you can help with go to our upcoming events page.
Have your own GoodGym story to share with the community? Email getinvolved@goodgym.org and we'll be in touch.
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