Bristol’s first ‘bleed kit’ - a specialist first aid kit that could well help save the life of someone who has been stabbed - has been set up in the city, inspired by the killing of a teenager more than a year ago.
When Dontae Davis was stabbed to death in Lawrence Hill in October 2021, Leanne Reynolds knew she had to do something to cut the number of young lives being lost to knife attacks in Bristol. Leanne, who worked at City of Bristol College at the time and knew Dontae well, and was already working on a campaign to get bleed kits introduced.
Now, after a community fundraising drive and the backing of Avon and Somerset police, the first one has been paid for an installed at a location in Newtown.
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The bleed kit is placed in a cabinet on a wall and the principle is very similar to the growing number of defibrillators that are being placed in locations around Bristol. But instead of being nearby and accessible in the event of someone going into cardiac arrest, emergency call handlers will direct someone who has dialled 999 to report that someone has been stabbed to their nearest bleed cabinet.
Inside, they will find a specialist first aid kit which call handlers will direct them on how to use to stop the bleeding before the ambulance and paramedics arrive.
Launching the kit, Leanne said she hoped it would never get used - but if it was called on, it could save a life. “It started in 2021 when we started campaigning to get bleed kits for Bristol and the south west,” explained Leanne. “This one here is going into Newtown in Bristol. It’s been community funded and we’re hoping that it doesn’t get used, but if it does it is here to save a life whilst you’re waiting for an ambulance.
“The bleed kit contains items that will ensure that you can hopefully save that life while you are waiting for the ambulance to come. If you come across someone that’s been wounded or is severely bleeding you call 999 you’ll be directed to the nearest cabinet or bleed kit, they will have instructions to follow. We’re here to try and save a life. We all know that knife crime is on the increase, and I’m hoping that if anyone has to use it, that life is saved. I hope it doesn’t get used,” she added.
The first in Newtown could well be followed by more around the city, and Leanne said she hopes they become as familiar a sight as the defibrillators. Avon and Somerset police recently announced the roll out of 150 bleed kits in locations around the force area, after Leanne’s campaign got the backing of the NHS and the Daniel Baird Foundation - a charity which was set up to raise money to buy and install the kits following the death of Daniel Baird, a 26-year-old who bled to death after being stabbed in Birmingham in 2017, because there was no first aid kit or bleed kit near him at the time.
“We’re delighted to announce the roll out of life-saving bleed kits, which will be installed in 150 locations across Avon and Somerset where defibrillators are already in situ,” said a police spokesperson. “If someone calls 999 in the event of someone being stabbed, they will be directed to the nearest kit with a password. The kits contain everything to increase the chances of survival whilst waiting for an ambulance,” he added.
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