Launch event at Astoria nightclub for Trauma Bleed Kits to stop catastrophic bleeding and save lives

Phil Carr, who is behind the Portsmouth City Council backed scheme, says trauma incidents are the biggest killer of those under 40 and the new Trauma Bleed Kits could help save the lives of victims ‘bleeding out’ who have been attacked. People losing blood are vulnerable to dying within three to five minutes and with the response times of ambulances being 10 minutes on average, there is still a potentially dangerous gap in time between incident and response.

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Thee 45-year-old, who runs security firm Forseti Training and has worked as a bouncer across the city for 25 years, believes the kits will become an important tool for all venues as new legislation, known as Martyn’s Law, is due to come in to improve security and safety for places where 100 people or more gather. The city council has already paid for six of the kits for venues.

The Trauma Bleed Kit allows staff to deal with up to four mild/moderate/severe bleeds. A pack contains one windlass tourniquet, four wound-clot patches, two trauma dressings, one thermal blanket, one set of shears, a single biohazard waste bag, one face-shield and two pairs of gloves. The kits come in a heat-sealed pouch with a four-year life after which the wound-clot dressing and trauma dressings need to be replaced.

Phil, speaking at the launch at Astoria nightclub in Guildhall Walk, said: ‘We’re launching our trauma bleed kits in conjunction with Martyn’s Law which is soon to be passed legislation to deal with all kinds of trauma events which is the biggest killer of under 40s in our country. Our kits are designed to stop catastrophic bleeds in the event of the worst happening within three minutes.

‘All places in the country need to have these kits. With the upcoming legislation change they’re going to be mandatory. We’re providing them now in Portsmouth because the city has had an increase in knife crime and trauma incidents.

‘We want to save lives. If these kits save one life…that is all that matters to us.’

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Councillor Steve Pitt, culture, leisure and economic development boss at the council, said: ‘I'm pleased we are supporting such a worthwhile scheme and the response from venues has been positive. It's important we work alongside businesses to help residents feel safe and secure.’

Councillor Jason Fazackarley, safety in the community leader at the council, added: ‘The impacts of knife crime are severe and anything we can do to lessen the impacts and reduce the risk of serious harm is valuable.’

Phil added: ‘The current strain placed on our emergency services to provide critical response and aid to people in need is at an all-time high. In the case of major trauma, like a stabbing or severe laceration, you can bleed out within three to five minutes. The current response time for an ambulance to attend a call out is 10 minutes. This leaves a large gap between incident and response, one that has to be filled by the front-line services such as workplace first-aiders and security personnel.’

For trauma kits and/or training go to www.forsetitraining.com or contact [email protected]