Six Emergency Bleed Kits to Be Installed in Guildford Town Centre

Six bleed kits are scheduled for installation at various sites within Guildford, Surrey. These kits are equipped with emergency medical supplies, including tourniquets and gauze, designed to potentially save individuals suffering from severe bleeding, such as stabbing victims. Local pubs in the town collaborated to generate the necessary funds for purchasing these kits. This initiative mirrors a comparable undertaking that has led to the installation of such kits in various Sussex locations, specifically Hastings and Crawley. Jane Lyons, chair of Guildford Pubwatch, stated: “The kits are there for any catastrophic bleed, so it’s not just about stabbing.” She added, “If there’s any possibility that it saves a life, that’s the end result that everybody wants.” The inspiration for this project stems from the passing of teenager Charlie Cosser of Milford, who succumbed to stab wounds sustained at a party in Warnham, West Sussex, in July 2023. His father, Martin, established the charity Charlie’s Promise, an organization dedicated to increasing awareness about knife crime. Mr. Cosser commented: “A person can bleed out and die in three to five minutes.” He further stated, “Around 40% of people suffering external catastrophic blood loss will die, so what Guildford Pubwatch is doing is incredible.” Bleed kits have already been deployed across Sussex, specifically in locations such as Hastings and Crawley, through the efforts of the group Project Youth. Carl Scott, the founder, noted that initially, the concept was “frowned upon by quite a lot of people” who “wanted to step away from the fact the risks were out there.” He explained that “When I managed to get the bleed kit up in Hastings,” it “raised the profile massively, where everybody started to get involved.” He added that “We’ve partnered with Sussex Police and Sussex Probation, and we’ve managed to install 18 across Sussex and four within the London area.”