Life saving emergency medical kits rolled out

Hundreds of emergency medical kits to staunch bleeding are being rolled out across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

The critical bleed control kits contain a tourniquet, a special type of gauze and chest seal dressing, gloves, scissors, foil blanket, resuscitation shield and instructions showing which type of dressing to apply to which part of the body.

The instructions tell people using them to phone 999 before applying the contents.

The red kit bags are being placed in defibrillator boxes, schools, clubs and other publicly-accessible locations thanks to an initiative by the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan, Melanie James.

She said there were in excess of 20,000 bleed control kits in England but only a handful in Wales and she would like this to change.

Accidents

The kits are for use in the immediate aftermath of emergencies such as road traffic and workplace accidents, glass injuries, knife wounds, dog bites, and for people with blood-clotting disorders who sustain cuts.

Mrs James said she expected 200 kits costing £95 each to have been deployed by the end of next week in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot and she has funding for a further 100.

“I do believe the High Sheriff office is a power for good,” she said. “I wanted to do one thing which benefited the entire community.”

She said she spoke to emergency services representatives before rolling out the kits and the founder of a charity in England – the Daniel Baird Foundation – which has been instrumental in their deployment across the border.

Mrs James has also linked up with a Mumbles-based defibrillator charity, Heartbeat Trust UK.

Funding

Funding for the kits, she said, has come from Swansea and Neath Port Talbot councils, the office of the South Wales police and crime commissioner, and private sector donations.

Awareness events about the kits have been held at Bulldogs Boxing and Community Activities, Baglan, and the Lord Mayor of Swansea’s Mansion House, Ffynone. Training sessions are being given by St John Ambulance Cymru West Glamorgan.

Mrs James is a magistrate and youth magistrate and was nominated to serve as High Sheriff – a voluntary role which involves supporting the judiciary and emergency services on behalf of the monarch – and is doing so for one year.

Mrs James, of Langland, is also a chartered surveyor who runs a company with her husband Nick. The couple have three sons.

She said none of the recently-installed bleed control kits had been used as yet but they could help save a life.

Knife crime

Although knife crime is considerably more prevalent in places like the West Midlands and London than South Wales, Mrs James said her youth magistrate work had made aware of the issues around the possession of a bladed article.

She has also been made aware of a 21-year-old from Swansea, Finian Fleming, who was involved in a motorcycle collision and whose life was said to have been saved by a quick-thinking member of the public applying a tourniquet. She said Mr Fleming backed the roll-out of the kits.

Another incident which has come to Mrs James’s attention was a person in Gower coming to the aid of a stricken neighbour who had fallen through a greenhouse and sustained cuts.

Her High Sheriff role has given her access to emergency service and council leaders.

“You do have an ability to open doors,” she said.