Radstock and Keynsham Neighbourhood Policing have highlighted the partnership between HeartSafe and Avon and Somerset Police in their successful installation of 130 Bleed Kits across the South West, including Midsomer Norton and Farrington.

Avon and Somerset Police have partnered up with HeartSafe, who install defibrillators into communities, to install Bleed Kits onto the side of existing defibrillators. This comes after several fatal stabbings across the South West, including Radstock and Bath.

Bleed Kits are designed to handle 'catastrophic bleeding' in the event of a traumatic injury where a person can lose a critical amount of blood within minutes; a stabbing or blunt force injury.

The HeartSafe website states that a 'bleed kit package that includes items like haemostatic dressings, trauma dressings, and a tourniquet can benefit those good samaritans helping at the scene of an incident.

'This type of package can be vital in emergencies where there is a severe bleeding injury, allowing bystanders and/or the injured person to provide immediate aid whilst waiting for the ambulance service to arrive at the scene.'

Explaining the Bleed Kits and their benefits, as well as their new locations in our area, Radstock and Keynsham Neighbourhood Policing said: 'After a successful partnership between HeartSafe and Avon and Somerset Police we are now working towards providing over 130 Bleed Kits to communities in Bristol and South West before the end of 2023.

'The community based around Radstock Police station are lucky to have had two installed already.

'While this partnership initiative is part of our work to tackle serious violence and knife crime, the bleed control kits are there to be used in any incident in which a person is suffering from a catastrophic bleed, whether it be a road traffic collision, fall, or other traumatic injury.'

To find out more about the scheme, order a bleed kit or register a bleed kit, visit the HeartSafe website.