Tip of the month: Bleed Kits

You may have seen a lot of local businesses and schools advertising their new ‘Bleed kits’.

Bleed-control kits include life-saving equipment that can prevent people from bleeding to death while waiting for paramedics to reach a scene. Much like AED’s (Automated External Defibrillator), they are predominately placed outside of buildings so are accessible to the general public. With bleeding, early intervention is crucial. Put simply, bleeding to death can happen very quickly. In fact, If haemorrhaging isn’t stopped, a person can bleed to death in just five minutes. If their injuries are severe, this could be even quicker. It’s a very scary fact.

As many will remember, on May 22nd, 2017, an extremist suicide bomber detonated a homemade shrapnel bomb at Manchester Arena as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two people were killed, and over 1,000 were injured during this attack, many sustaining life-changing injuries.

A young person killed in the attack was Martyn Hett. A year later, his mother attended a concert in Manchester and was shocked at the lack of security and started lobbying for a change in legislation to improve security measures at arenas and venues. The campaign became known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ and is expected to result in new legislation called ‘The Protect Duty’.This legislation aims to make venue owners and event organisers responsible for keeping people safe from terrorist attacks. The Government has confirmed that the new counter-terrorism “Protect Duty” will become law during the next session of Parliament. The New Act will impose several duties while ensuring that “robust plans must be in place to respond to a terror attack.” Now is the time that public venues should be preparing adequate medical supplies, including trauma bags and bleed control kits, to be readily available.

So should your business have one? That is entirely your decision. With a small investment in a life-saving kit and some staff training, you may save the life of a friend, work colleague or a member of the public. Completing a risk assessment in your workplace can help you establish the need for special trauma kits or supplies. If your work involves a high-risk environment that contains metalwork, machinery or glass, or you work in a sector identified by RIDDOR  as benefiting from carrying specialist dressings and training in the use of tourniquets, or there a risk of violence in your workplace or injury from dangerous animals then you will benefit from one.

Bleed control kits can be purchased from a number of outlets and some charities are also providing them. The cost of a bleed kit is minimal when considering the lives that could be saved by owning one. They are specialised trauma kits designed to provide the first responder with the products they need to stop life-threatening bleeding until help arrives, potentially saving lives. The are beneficial in public places and venues to treat stabbing, crushing, blast and gunshot wounds. With the increasing number of violent crimes and stabbings happening in the UK, ministers are calling for bleed kits to be made available to the police and the general public. Bleed kits are now more widely available in public spaces, like shops, malls and venues.

First-aid kits are used to treat minor injuries like cuts, scrapes and burns. Bleed kits help control life-threatening bleeding. Many standard first-aid kits will not carry the necessary equipment to stem a severe and critical bleed.

A simple basic bleed kit is likely to contain the following products, all designed to prevent bleeding fast:

• Trauma Dressing – These are used to control moderate bleeding by applying pressure. For lacerations, abrasions, burns, penetrative wounds & fractures
• Haemostatic Gauze Dressing – Works to stop life-threatening bleeding after just 60 seconds of compression with the aid of coagulation granules
• Chest Seal – A specially designed dressing for emergency management of penetrating chest wounds
• Tourniquet – Designed to stop catastrophic bleeding to limbs
• Nitrile Gloves – For personal protection
• Scissors

As a general guidance, we would suggest as a minimum that the following buisnesses have atleast 1 bleed kit available, although the list really is endless:

• Arenas
• Sports Centres
• Shopping Centres
• Pubs, Clubs and Restaurants
• Commercial Kitchens
• Construction Sites
• Forestry
• Manufacturing & Factories