Doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham’s (QEHB) A&E department are urging the public to be safe this summer as scores take to the roads on bicycles without protective gear.

This public appeal comes ahead of National Bike Week (15 – 23 June) and is the latest call in the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust's (UHB) Cycle Safe campaign.

The campaign, which began in August 2012, is proving to be successful. So far this year there has 20 per cent fewer patients admitted to A&E having come off a bike, compared with the same period in 2012.

But, despite the reduction in injuries, doctors say there is no room for complacency as summer approaches – last year’s peak hit in August when 5 young people died in just four weeks and more than 60 more were injured.

Dr Umesh Salanke, a consultant in emergency medicine at the Trust, described his fears for those out on the roads: “Cycling is a great form of exercise and we actively encourage people to get out and ride their bikes, but if you are going to cycle anywhere it is important, first and foremost, to be safe. 

“As I drive into work I notice there are a lot of people, even parents with young children, out there riding on the road without helmets or any safety gear and to be honest it scares me.

“Cyclists need to take every precaution to be as safe as possible and be more easily seen, especially if they are going to ride on the road.

“I really don’t want to see a repeat of last year, when so many people ended up in our Emergency Department as a result of collisions on the roads."

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham has teamed up with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to provide potentially life-saving advice, which is available around the hospital and online.

For advice on cycling or to download a leaflet, please visit the cycle safety page.