‘Stab survival cupboards’ installed in Liverpool amid national rise in knife crime deaths
“Stab survival cupboards” have been installed in Liverpool in the first initiative of its kind in the UK to help reverse a national rise in deaths from knife crime.
The bright-red cabinets containing medical equipment are designed to enable members of the public and police officers, who are often first on the scene of an attack, to treat victims before ambulances crews arrive.
Police, trauma medics and charities say such interventions could make the difference between life and death, as it can take only five minutes to bleed to death from a wound – but seven minutes on average for an ambulance to arrive.
It is the first time the units have been installed in the UK.
The cupboards – officially known as “bleeding control cabinets” – contain scissors, gloves, tourniquets and chest wound sealants to stem the bleeding from a wound. They can be accessed 24/7 using a code which is provided by calling 999.
The first six are being installed on walls in Liverpool city centre.
KnifeSavers, the charitable enterprise which is spearheading the initiative, hopes for the survival kits to be eventually rolled out nationwide.
The scheme was launched following the fatal stabbing of 12-year-old Ava White in November 2021, and is supported by her mother, Leeann, and the foundation created in her memory.
The schoolgirl died after being stabbed following an altercation in Liverpool city centre moments after a Christmas lights switch-on event.
Although initiatives in Merseyside since then have contributed to a 22 per cent fall in knife offences, attacks are rising across the UK.
Knife-enabled crime increased by three per cent to 50,833 offences in the year to June 2023, while a record high of 282 homicides involved a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in the year to March 2022.
Despite the reduction, Merseyside remains a region with one of the highest rates for knife crime, with 86 cases per 100,000 people - the ninth highest in England and Wales.
‘Every second counts’
Nikhil Misra, a consultant trauma surgeon at Liverpool’s Aintree University Hospital and KnifeSavers founder, said: “Whether it’s a knife wound, or an injury from a fall or a car crash, every second counts when it comes to controlling the bleeding and hopefully saving someone’s life.
“These kits provide the essential equipment needed to reduce and prevent catastrophic bleeding until the arrival of paramedics and it’s our mission to try and get the cabinets and bleed kits truly accessible across the whole of the North West, and then all of the country.”
More than 20 additional cabinets are expected to be installed in locations across the North West. A further 1,500 portable versions, in the form of bleed kits, have already been distributed to organisations and venues in the region including clubs, bars, pubs, taxis and schools.
The measures form part of a wider campaign focused on educating young people about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.
Superintendent Georgie Garvey, director of Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership, said: “The early stages after a violent incident are often the most important in terms of delivering life-saving medical care.
“These cabinets will assist members of the community to provide a rapid response prior to the arrival of emergency services, enabling a wound to be packed or wrapped and buying the injured person more time, which ultimately could help to save their life.”
Superintendent Phil Mullally, Merseyside Police’s lead for Serious Violence and Knife Crime, added: “Reducing serious violence is a priority for the force and we have ongoing operations and initiatives targeted at reducing and preventing knife crime.
“We are targeting serious violence hotspot areas with high visibility patrols and using new powers such as Serious Violence Reduction Orders to keep the pressure on those who unlawfully carry and use knives in Merseyside.”
