Hundreds of emergency bleed control kits updated

Lynne Baird, who was made an MBE in 2022, has campaigned tirelessly for the life-saving kits to be rolled out

Hundreds of emergency bleed control kits are being updated across the West Midlands.

The specialist kits are designed to provide treatment for someone suffering severe bleeding while waiting for emergency medics to arrive.

About 400 new packs, containing bandages, tourniquets and gloves, will be installed in venues such as pubs, youth centres and shopping centres.

The new kits are an upgrade on others installed four years ago around Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The bleed control kits were introduced in the region following a campaign from Lynne Baird, whose son Daniel died in 2017 after he was stabbed in Digbeth.

"When my son was stabbed, there wasn’t a first aid kit nearby to stop the bleed. Had there been, then Daniel might still be with us today," she said.

“These kits help to control the bleed and buy time for the ambulance to arrive.”

The Daniel Baird Foundation fundraises and campaigns for more such kits to be available in public locations.

The West Midlands police and crime commissioner provided £33,000 for the rollout of the new packs.