UK’s first bleed cabinet installed in Birmingham street after fatal stabbing

Portable kit designed to prevent cast atrophic blood loss has same emergency equipment as ambulance

The bleed control cabinet is accessible 24 hours a day by a code provided by emergency services, and contains haemostatic dressings, gloves, a tourniquet and a chest seal (Turtle Engineering)

The UK’s first-ever kit to control bleeding has been installed at the scene of a fatal stabbing in Birmingham.

The bleed control cabinet, designed to prevent catastrophic blood loss while paramedics race to the scene, was set up on Hurst Street on Thursday.

It contains a portable bleed kit which has the same emergency equipment as an ambulance along with full instructions for use.

The equipment was designed by Turtle Engineering in partnership with the Daniel Baird Foundation, which was set up by Lynne Baird after her 26-year-old son was killed outside a pub in Birmingham in 2017.

Ms Baird said the kits would be a vital tool in saving lives and expressed her hopes that they will be installed across the country.

The bleed control cabinet is accessible 24 hours a day by a code provided by emergency services, and contains haemostatic dressings, gloves, a tourniquet and a chest seal.

“These public access kits are a vital tool in saving lives, so we are very excited that the UK’s first cabinet containing these kits is about to be installed in Birmingham,” Ms Baird said.

“We hope this will be the first of many and look forward to seeing more of them nationwide soon.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service chief executive Anthony Marsh, said: “When I met Lynne last year, I was moved by her determination not to let other mothers go through what she has had to bear.  I fully support her campaign; having more bleed control kits will help to save lives.  As we see in cardiac arrest cases, every second counts, so the more bleed kits we can get on our city centre streets the better.” 

Mike Dowson, managing director of Turtle Engineering, said: “Bleeding from trauma injuries can prove fatal in three to five minutes so we are making it our mission to try and get the cabinets and bleed kits truly accessible in all major towns and cities throughout the UK.

"We are very proud to be helping the Daniel Baird Foundation with this first cabinet because they have trailblazed the need for accessible bleed kits in the West Midlands.”

Installing the cabinet with full kit costs £500.