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First public bleed kits installed in city

Galya Dimitrova
BBC News
Oxford City Council A woman trying to access the Cowley bleed kit. She is wearing a red long-sleeve top. He face is visible only in profile and she is wearing a black hijab.Oxford City Council
The kits can be accessed by emergency call handlers that provide the key code to open the cabinets

Publicly accessible bleed kits have been installed in Oxford for the first time.

The four kits, designed to help treat severe bleeding before emergency services arrive, have been placed at Barton Community Centre, Templars Square Shopping Centre, Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre and Blackbird Leys Top Shops.

The initiative is a collaboration between Oxford City Council, Thames Valley Police (TVP) and local performer Claire Nelson, who last year wrote and performed the show Motherhood, about the impact of knife crime on parents.

It is part of a wider effort to enhance community safety and ensure people have access to essential first aid tools.

Oxford City Council Councillor Lubna Arshad (first from left on the first row), a TVP officer, writer and performer Claire Nelson, and two men behind them smiling for the camera next to a bleed kit.Oxford City Council
Councillor Lubna Arshad (first from left on the front row), said the initiative would "help make Oxford a safer place for everyone"

Each kit contains first aid equipment, such as tourniquets, gauze and gloves.

Like defibrillators, the bleed kits are stored in secure cabinets on the outside of buildings.

Emergency call handlers provide the key code access to the cabinets when needed.

They have been installed by Oxford Direct Services (ODS), which works on behalf of the city council.

Oxford City Council A woman walking into the Templars Square Shopping Centre. The bleed kit cabinet can be seen at the side of the building on the wall.Oxford City Council
The kits have been installed at four key locations in Oxford, including outside Templars Square Shopping Centre

Ms Nelson's solo play was inspired by her own real-life experiences and raised more than £1,300, which helped fund two of the kits.

She said the recent news of stabbings in Sheffield and Wales made her think "we really need these things".

"Bleed kits can help any member of the public save a life before professional medical help arrives and those minutes could just make the difference," she continued.

"Even kids... can just call 999 and open the kit because they are 24-hour accessible."

She added: "We've got four now installed but that's a drop in the ocean compared to what may be needed...

"I want to get people talking and thinking that this is an issue we need to do something about."

The installation follows similar initiatives in other UK cities.

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