The UK’s first combined cabinet, housing a bleed control kit and automated external defibrillator has been installed in the Black Country.

The equipment, which can be used by anyone with no need for training, is aimed to assist in the event of a catastrophic bleed or cardiac arrest.

The AED for the new cabinet on Park Road in Dudley has been donated by West Midlands Ambulance Service, with both the cabinet and bleed kit generously coming from The Daniel Baird Foundation.  

The Foundation was set up in honour of Daniel after he was stabbed in Birmingham in 2017 and sadly died shortly after arriving at hospital due to catastrophic bleeding. His family have since been campaigning for emergency bleed control equipment to be made publicly available in cities across the UK, just as defibrillators are.

In adults, defibrillation within 3-5 minutes of collapse may produce survival rates as high as 50-70% in the event of a cardiac arrest. That’s why the most important actions you can take to attempt to save a life are calling an ambulance, starting CPR and using an automated external defibrillator. 

In cases of catastrophic bleeding through incidents such as a stabbing, shooting or RTC, a patient can die in just five minutes. That’s why the bleed control kits, which were initially developed by WMAS and the West Midlands Trauma Networks, have several items that really could make all the difference: including a Tourniquet, haemostatic gauze, and a chest seal. More information on how to use these kits can be found here. WMAS Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Marsh, said:

“Making equipment like this available to the public in those first minutes of a life-threatening situation before paramedics arrive, can prove absolutely vital. Today’s instalment in Dudley is a huge step forward in ensuring the public have access to potentially life-saving equipment in their local area.

"When we worked with The Daniel Baird Foundation on the bleed control kits more than two years ago, I had hoped they’d become as common as defibrillators. Now, here we are with both sets of equipment being housed in the same cabinet.

"Bleed control kits and AED’s provide the best chance of survival to the patient in those vital minutes before our ambulance crews arrive on scene. I really do hope we see many more cabinets like this installed over the coming years to help save as many lives as possible.”

Turtle Engineering designed and built the cabinet in the UK and have worked closely with The Daniel Baird Foundation and emergency services on the location of the first installation. Accessible 24/7, the cabinet at The Bramford Arms can be accessed by a code provided by the emergency services.