Bleed control kits to be installed in Westbury

New bleed control kits will be installed in the town following a proposal by a Westbury councillor.

Cllr Boaz Barry, alongside Cllr Chris Vaughan, proposed that Wiltshire Council install at least 100 of the life-saving kits across the county. The motion has been approved by Wiltshire Council.

At least 100 HeartSafe public-access bleed control kits will be installed in locations across Wiltshire at a cost of up to £25,000. Bleed control kits contain equipment to help treat severe bleeding before paramedics arrive.

Cllr Barry said there will “absolutely” be kits installed in Westbury and that he will push for Westbury Library as an ideal location.

The kits will be installed in partnership with HeartSafe UK, South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT) and Wiltshire Police. The programme mirrors one led by Avon and Somerset Police which has deployed nearly 800 kits and contributed to 14 confirmed lives saved.

HeartSafe kits are the only public-access bleed kits formally recognised by SWASFT which allows ambulance call handlers to direct 999 callers to the nearest mapped kit in real time, enabling bystanders to intervene before paramedics arrive.

“This is not an untested idea,” said Cllr Barry. “The model works. The partnerships are in place. We are not being asked to pioneer something – we are being asked to follow a proven blueprint, build more resilient communities, and give the people of Wiltshire the same fighting chance that others already have.

“This is a modest ask with a profound outcome. Around £23,000 for life saving infrastructure. To give someone bleeding out on our high streets the same chance as someone bleeding out in a hospital.”

The decision comes after 16-year-old Shayne Hambakachere was fatally stabbed in Chippenham in January of this year, but Cllr Barry also highlighted how the kits could also be used in incidents not related to knife crime.

He said, “In Avon and Somerset where kits have been deployed, they have 14 confirmed lives saved so far, only 4 were linked to knives. The other 10 were due to falls, workplace accidents, traffic collisions or just freak accidents.

“I was told a story of a young mother with her daughter in a park in Bristol. The mother suffered a medical emergency and collapsed. As she fell, she lacerated her neck on street furniture. On that day, it was a nearby bleed kit and bystander that saved her life.”