A recent surge in knife crime and warnings of a fresh wave of terror attacks has sparked calls for specialist bleed control kits to be rolled out to key locations in towns and cities across the country.
Lynne Baird, whose son Daniel was stabbed to death four years ago in Birmingham, has fought a one-woman campaign to have packs of heavy duty bandages and tourniquets distributed more widely.
Key agencies, including several police forces and the ambulance service have joined that effort, rolling out more than 2000 of the life saving packs so far.
Daniel Baird was fatally stabbed after intervening in an argument in a Birmingham pub in 2017.
Lynne Baird said: "Daniel just went out for a night to celebrate getting a new job."
"There was some kind of altercation in the pub and he went to see if he could help."
"He was stabbed and I didn’t see him again."
Heartbroken by the loss of her son, Lynne Baird ploughed all her energies into coming up with an idea that could help save those bleeding out after traumatic injury.
Her simple, but highly effective solution was a pack containing heavy duty bandages, tourniquets and chest seals, items not normally contained in regular first aid kits.
She told GB News she is convinced that had a bleed kit been available the night her son was stabbed, he might have survived.
“There was no time for the paramedics to get there. He bled out so fast. If there had been one of these kits in the pub and it had been used, we might have a different story now.
That’s what made me carry on with this campaign.”
Daniel Baird was killed in Birmingham
With no end in sight to the epidemic of violent crime in many towns and cities, bleed control kits are now being rolled out more widely.
The Midlands Air Ambulance attends an average of 4 serious stabbings and shootings a week - and many more incidents where catastrophic blood loss is a key concern.
Critical care paramedic Jack Lewis said more than 60% of call outs for the air ambulance are trauma related, where severe blood loss is common.
“While we do try to come out with the best level of care outside of hospital, it is those basic procedures in the first few minutes that will ultimately decide whether a patient lives or dies.
“And with a catastrophic haemorrhage, that’s particularly true. You can bleed out from a arterial wound in minutes.
The medic said bleed control kits, combined with a level of first aid training in their use, could well save lives.
“If someone has a cardiac arrest in the street, a defibrillator can get there and make a difference in 30 seconds, yet if somebody has a catastrophic bleed, where do you get the equipment that’s going to save that life?”
“So things like the bleed control kits will save lives. And the interventions available in this kit will absolutely stop a catastrophic haemorrhage in the right place at the right time.”
The murder of Sir David Amess has highlighted the continuing threat from terrorism, with authorities warning of the possibility of a fresh wave of attacks.
One of the country’s most senior emergency medicine consultants told GB News bleed control kits could mean the difference between life and death.
A tribute to MP Sir David Amess is shown on the big screen prior to the Premier League match at the London Stadium.
Tim Goode
Professor Richard Lyon said:
“Tragic incidents like the fatal attack on MP David Amess highlights that penetrating trauma incidents can occur anywhere, at any time.
“There is a real opportunity for better public access to life saving equipment, like bleed kits, in order to save more lives.
“Even with an air ambulance travelling in a straight line at over 130mph to an incident, patients can bleed out in under 5 minutes in some circumstances.”
The Bull’s Head in Birmingham, one of the city’s oldest and best known pubs, led the way in placing bleed kits behind the bar, and now the whole of the Davenports brewery chain as followed suit.
Brewery Manager Luke Toon said, in addition to the kits, staff are also being trained in its use.
“Luckily enough, we’ve never had to use it. But better to be safe than sorry I suppose.
“All staff are trained. Bar staff, floor staff, management, all of them are trained how to use it, just in case.
Mr Toon said both staff and customers had welcomed the installation of the bleed kits.
“Everybody’s on board with it. All the customers were really impressed to see us doing some training throughout the day when we first had them installed.”
In recent weeks the bleed control kits have been instrumental in saving the lives of two people who were stabbed in separate incidents in Birmingham and London.
Lynne Baird said that proved she was right to continue her campaign.
“I think it’s absolutely wonderful, and I did say right at the start of this campaign that lives would be saved and they have been.
“I would just like to see these kits rolled out all across the UK.”
Lynne said nothing could ever diminish the loss she feels every day.
But there is at least some comfort in the knowledge that lives are being saved in Daniel’s memory.
