London police give ‘bleed control kits’ to on-trade

The City of London Police has launched a new initiative to give ‘bleed control kits’ to late-night venues in the city’s Square Mile in an effort to prevent fatal stabbings.

The bleed control kits will be distributed to late-night venues within London’s Square Mile

The scheme will distribute 320 bleed control kits across the city in the coming weeks, and follows a similar launch by West Midlands Community Safety Partnership earlier this year in association with The Daniel Baird Foundation.

The foundation was started by Lynne Baird, Daniel Baird’s mother, after her son was fatally stabbed while out with friends in Birmingham on 8 July 2017.

There was no first aid kit or bleed control kit available and Daniel died not long after arriving at hospital due to “catastrophic bleeding”.

It is hoped that in the event of a stabbing, the kits will be able to save time until paramedics arrive and prevent bleeding, which could result in death.

According to City of London Police, it takes an ambulance responding to a 999 call from someone with life-threatening injuries seven minutes to reach a patient, but bleeding from serious injuries – such as those suffered from a stabbing – could prove fatal in just three to five minutes.

The City of London Police is funding the initiative and the kits will be made available in various premises with late-night licences.

Alistair Sutherland, City of London Police’s assistant commissioner, said: “The City of London Police is proud to launch this initiative, in partnership with the Daniel Baird Foundation, as part of Lynne’s passionate campaign in memory of her son.

“These kits will help us achieve our aim of making the city as safe as possible for the people who love, work and visit the Square Mile.

“Daniel’s death was a tragedy that no parent should have to suffer. The initiative we’re launching with Lynne’s foundation today, will help Daniel’s memory go on in the lives that will be saved.”

Prometheus Medical, who developed and produced the kits, will offer training to staff at the venues where the kits will be distributed.

Venues with licences to sell alcohol after 12am will be given priority for receiving the kits. There are plans to make the kits more widely available from 2020 onwards.

Lynne Baird, who founded the Daniel Baird Foundation, said: “I’m delighted that the City of London Police has agreed to partner with The Daniel Baird Foundation, and that these life-saving kits will now be distributed to venues across the city.

“I’m very proud of what the foundation has achieved so far, initially in West Midlands and now with the City of London Police, but I don’t want it to stop here. I hope that this launch today will spark more forces to join our campaign and help make these kits available up and down the country.”