Anyone with a severe wound can bleed to death in less than five minutes, so it is vital they get help as quickly as possible.
Whether they have been involved in a serious collision or – as is tragically becoming more common – have been the victim of knife crime, they need immediate help to stay alive.
Bleed kits
We have previously reported about the Rapaid charity bleed kits, which are military-style bandages that can stop severe bleeding in seconds – giving patients the best chance of survival. They are designed to save lives on the battlefield and have been placed in key locations, including taxis which can be flagged down in an emergency, with the kits hopefully making the difference between life and death.
In one of the latest schemes in Plymouth, the BBC reports that a successful trial of the bleed kits has now been extended.
Originally put into 50 black cabs at Plymouth train station, the scheme has been extended to 160 cabs which can be flagged down in an emergency, and the kit can be used to help keep an injured person alive until the emergency services arrive. Cabs carrying the kits are identified with stickers on the front and rear windows. Each kit contains sealed emergency bandages which are designed to stop catastrophic bleeding, with a built-in pressure pad and tourniquet. They also include surgical gloves and easy-to-follow instructions, with step-by-step images for anyone to apply the bandages.

Charity
The extra kits have been made possible by a £10,000 donation from Devonport-based global defence company Babcock International Group.
Rapaid charity co-founder Alex Chivers told the BBC: “It takes just three to five minutes to bleed out and anyone can use our military-style bandages to stop the bleed in seconds, using the simple instructions included.”
“The cab drivers do not need to use the kits themselves, the idea is that their vehicle is where the emergency bandages kit is kept for public use anywhere in the Plymouth area.
“This is vital first-aid for any kind of accident or incident, including road traffic collisions, terror attacks, stabbings or falls.”

Front line
The life-saving kits have also proved popular with London cabbies, who hope a sponsor will come forward to help the charity produce enough Rapaid kits to meet demand.
London Taxi Drivers’ Association General Secretary Steve McNamara said: “You can’t walk anywhere in central London for more than a couple of minutes without seeing a black cab, which makes them the perfect vehicle for circulating Rapaid emergency bandages kits throughout one of the busiest urban environments in the world.
“Cabbies are frequently heroes in disguise, getting people to where they need to be and often pitching in when help is needed. Who better to carry Rapaid bleed kits?
“I get contacted on a daily basis with all kinds of products and ideas, usually commercial, and often with no real merit, but this idea was an inspired solution to a problem: how to achieve maximum coverage for these potentially life-saving emergency bandages throughout a city with potential danger around every corner, day and night.
“It’s amazing to think how quickly 2,000 cabs have been kitted out. And even more amazing to know that we could turn that figure into 15,000 tomorrow based on the number of drivers happy to get on board. The only thing slowing down the roll out is funding. Rapaid is a charity, dependent on donations to fund production and distribution of the kits.”
It is fantastic to see Alex and the team distributing the life-saving bandages across the country and that taxi drivers – who are on the front line in dealing with so many people – are eager to get involved and hopefully be in a position where they really can make a difference between life and death.
Visit RAPAID’s website for details.