CARDIFF is set to benefit from an initiative to reduce the risk of people bleeding out from an injury thanks to emergency bleed kits charity RAPAID, which is rolling out its campaign in Wales for the first time this week.
The city is the first in Wales and the seventh in the UK to form part of RAPAID’s campaign to put life-saving emergency bandages kits into circulation so that any member of the public can potentially stop the bleed and save a life in the event of an accident, incident, or criminal attack. The charity has been installing its kits in black cabs for four years, adding new cities to the programme as funds have been raised. Its work ensures the life-saving equipment is in constant circulation and within easy reach in the cities taking part in the campaign.
The Cardiff roll out has gained the full backing of Rhys Morgan at Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan licensing section, along with taxi drivers in the city and the taxi union. Adrian Snook, the Neighbourhood Inspector for Cardiff City Centre’s neighbourhood policing team is also very supportive of the initiative and has welcomed it as a positive step towards making Cardiff even more welcoming and safer for residents and visitors alike.
Each RAPAID kit contains military-style emergency bandages which are used by both the armed services and police responders to stem a catastrophic bleed in the field in seconds. A serious bleed can cause a person to bleed out in just three to five minutes, which is often less than the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene. With the RAPAID emergency bandages kits in circulation around Cardiff, any member of the public will be able to hail a cab displaying one of RAPAID’s distinctive green stickers and ask for the bag. They can then follow the simple, illustrated laminated instructions in the paramedic-style bag, which will be included in both Welsh and English in the Cardiff kits, to stop the bleed until the emergency services arrive, potentially saving a life. Each kit also contains protective gloves, and all the bandages are in a sterile wrapper, with a shelf-life of eight years.
Alex Chivers, co-founder of the RAPAID charity explains: “We are excited to be rolling out the project in Wales for the first time, and Cardiff, with its vibrant night life and busy visitor economy, was the ideal place to locate the kits. It was important to us to translate the instructions into Welsh because the whole ethos of what we’re doing is to ensure that help is at hand for everyone, from anyone, so accessibility is key.
“The bandages in our kits are specially made for ease and speed of use, with a pressure pad to place on the wound and a design that automatically applies pressure to stop the bleed. In many scenarios, people on the scene want to help but lack the skills or equipment to step in. Our kits can be used with no training or special skills, providing the simple equipment that could save a life.”
Alex was joined by Rhys Morgan and Adrian Snook to install the first RAPAID kits in Cardiff’s distinctive black and white cabs at Cardiff Central train station taxi rank on Friday morning (20th September), as the RAPAID team explained the kits to drivers and placed a sticker in the front and rear windows. The charity, which has also donated six RAPAID kits to Cardiff’s street wardens, will initially install the kits in 50 cabs in Cardiff over the next few months, adding to the thousands already in place in London, Manchester, Oxford, Exeter, Swindon and Plymouth. It hopes to gain the support and financial backing of the local community and businesses to help fund more life-saving kits and add to the total available in Cardiff in the months ahead.
Rhys Morgan commented: “The authority are delighted that drivers in the city will be able to carry these kits and for the campaign to be available in the city. The initiative has been seen to gain excellent momentum and we are pleased that the Cardiff taxi community can be part of this campaign.
“The Kits have been donated to a number of Cardiff drivers in order for them to carry the RAPAID kits and identification stickers in their vehicles, safely and hygienically should they ever be needed. Having the tools available across the city to assist in preparedness and response to serious accidents or emergencies is a step forward in providing support to the wider daytime and nighttime economy in the city.
“We hope the rest of the campaign is successful in the continued roll out.”
Adrian Snook added: “Cardiff has an excellent history of partnership working and this is yet another example of efforts to keep the city centre safe, as well as vibrant and welcoming.
“The RAPAID campaign is a welcome addition to a range of police and partnership initiatives already in place.”
