Emergency bleed kits dispatched in Aylesbury to help save lives

Two bleed kits will be available to the public in Aylesbury as part of a community initiative launched to protect residents.

Bucks-based community groups have teamed up to provide the kits, that could prove to be the difference between life and death.

A spokesman for the group advised that the scheme was launched following the tragic death of 22-year-old Amir Shafique.

Amir lost his life during a fight in October 2020. Five men have since been jailed for their involvement in the events that led to Amir’s death.

Since then, Amir’s family and friends, along with other local community associations have campaigned against the use of young people carrying knives.

They continue to publicise Amir’s story in the hope no young person has to suffer the same fate.

In This Together, Fairhive Homes Ltd, Southcourt Baptist Church, Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire Council and Carewell Health Recruitment Services all teamed up to provide, fit and maintain the bleed kits.

The kits can be found at Edinburgh Playing Fields in Churchill Avenue and at Southcourt Baptist Church, Penn Road.

Each kit contains essential equipment including a tourniquet and bandages, plus instructions on how to use them in the event of treating a knife wound or traumatic injury.

Adele Webb, co-founder of In This Together, a group dedicated to uniting communities against violent knife crime, said: “On average an ambulance takes 11 minutes to reach a victim – they can easily bleed out in five minutes.

"The bleed kit can save precious minutes in the treatment of someone with a stab wound, and literally save their life.”

A group spokesman advises that quite often the first person arriving at the scene of an incident is a member of the public, and that person is best-placed to offer immediate first aid – saving vital minutes and can save a life.

To use the kit, someone must call 999, advise of their location, using the address on the pack, it will then become unlocked.

An information pack advises people on how to put a victim in the correct position for an ambulance service and also how to treat a wound in the meantime.

Lidia Sadlowska, neighbourhood manager at Fairhive, added: “Amir’s death was tragic and a huge loss to all those who knew him.

"Everyone has worked hard to make sure his death was not in vain, and that should others find themselves in the same situation, they have the greatest chance of surviving and recovering.”

In the past month three knife crime police investigations have been launched in Aylesbury and surrounding villages.

A man was arrested on Good Friday (15 April), after another man needed hospital treatment for suspected stab wounds following an altercation on Bicester Road.

In nearby Weston Turville another man was rushed to hospital, he was stabbed in the early hours of Easter Saturday.

An attempted murder case was opened in Aylesbury by Thames Valley Police on 29 March.

After a man was stabbed in broad daylight by the on Walton Street, a man needed hospital treatment after the attack, but has since been discharged.