Following engagement by local businesses and organisations with Saltford Parish Council’s (SPC) initiative to install Community Bleed Kits in the village, SPC is pleased to share that five Community Bleed Kits have been installed during December 2024 and January 2025.
Bleed Kits are designed to be used by bystanders to save lives in instances of catastrophic blood loss. By giving people the tools to stop bleeding until paramedics arrive, the immediate availability of Community Bleed Kits in Saltford could help save lives. Bleed Kits contain equipment including trauma dressings and instructions on how to use them, so kits can be used by members of the public without training. For more information please view the section below titled ‘What is a Bleed Kit and why are they needed?’.
SPC wishes to express its sincere thanks to the Avon and Somerset Community Bleed Kit Partnership for their support and guidance throughout SPC’s initiative to install Bleed Kits in Saltford. For more information about Community Bleed Kits (when they can be used, what is in a Bleed Kit, etc) please view the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership’s brochure.
Bleed Kit installed at Saltford Hall
In September 2024, SPC approached Curo for grant funding to install its first Community Bleed Kit at Saltford Community Association’s Saltford Hall at Wedmore Road. SPC had been contacted by SCA to see if there was any way that SPC could support a Bleed Kit at Saltford Hall, and SPC was pleased to be able to help SCA in its request. At the time, there were no Community Bleed Kits available in Saltford showing on the Heartsafe Bleed Kit map. Please view SPC’s article about successfully securing funding, titled ‘New Bleed Kit at Saltford Hall, thanks to funding awarded by Curo‘.
By December 2024, Curo funding had kindly been given to SPC and the Bleed Kit purchased from the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership, and the Community Bleed Kit was installed at Saltford Hall. In early January 2025 members of Saltford Parish Council (including Chair Jon Godfrey) joined with Saltford Community Association Trustees (including SCA Chairman Richard Evans) and Neil Rogers from Curo for a photo by the newly installed kit. Please see SPC’s article titled ‘New Bleed Kit at SCA’s Saltford Hall, funded by Curo Places Ltd (on application by Saltford Parish Council)‘.
Photo shows representatives from SPC, SCA and Curo by the new Bleed Kit at Saltford Hall, January 2025
SPC initiative to install more Community Bleed Kits in Saltford
The impetus for a wider Bleed Kit installation initiative in the village followed Curo awarding SPC funding for a Community Bleed Kit at Saltford Hall. SPC had resolved to look do a Bleed Kit initiative earlier in 2024, however due to limited resource SPC had needed to delay progress.
In autumn 2024, SPC engaged with the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership to learn more about the vital lifesaving role Community Bleed Kits can have in areas like Saltford and which type of Bleed Kit would be suitable for our village.
With support from the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership, by November 2024 SPC had identified its own funding for Bleed Kits and opened applications to local businesses and organisations. For details about SPC’s initiative to fund four Bleed Kits, please view SPC’s November 2024 article titled ‘Applications open for Community Bleed Kits in Saltford!‘.
At its December 2024 meeting where applications were discussed, SPC resolved to purchase four Community Bleed Kits, of which three were gifted to local businesses and organisations, and one registered to Saltford Parish Council. SPC would like to thank Saltford Golf Club, Saltford Sports Club, and the owner of The Bird in Hand (‘The Bird’) country pub for their support and engagement with SPC’s Community Bleed Kit initiative.
SPC ordered the Community Bleed Kits soon after its December meeting, and by the first week of January 2025 they had been installed around the village. These were installed by the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership, who also supplied SPC with photos of the new Bleed Kits in situ (please see below).
At the time, the they stated on their Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership Facebook page:
A big thanks to Saltford Parish Council for their vital investment in four bleed kits, now installed within the local community. This initiative highlights their strong commitment to enhancing community safety and ensuring life-saving equipment is readily available in emergencies. A truly impactful step towards protecting lives!
(Image shows social media post on Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership’s Facebook Page about the four newly installed Bleed Kits in Saltford).
SPC also welcomed news from the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership that a private funder had paid for a Community Bleed Kit next to the (privately owned) defibrillator on the side wall of Davis & Way Estate Agent’s in Saltford (Beech Road / A4 junction). This brings the total of Community Bleed Kits in Saltford to six in just a period of three months.
Where are Community Bleed Kits located in Saltford?
Please view SPC’s page ‘Defibrillators and Bleed Kits (Saltford)‘, which is under the Our Village tab at the top of this page. The ‘Defibrillators and Bleed Kits (Saltford’ page can be used to locate defibrillators and bleed kits in Saltford, but is not intended for use in an emergency – if you require urgent medical assistance, call 999).
This page links to the Heartsafe Bleed Kit map, which shows locations for all the Bleed Kits in the country as registered with Heartsafe.
This screen grab taken from the Heartsafe Bleed Kit Map from 15 January 2025 shows five of the six Community Bleed Kits listed in Saltford, (the one at Saltford Hall is currently pending registration)
Bleed kits installed in Saltford as part of SPC’s initative (as of January 2025):
Community Bleed Kit at Saltford Hall, as funded by Curo at the request of SPC and owned by Saltford Community Association.
Wedmore Road, BS31 3BY, on external wall near entrance doors.
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Community Bleed Kit at Saltford Golf Club, funded by SPC and owned by Saltford Golf Club.
Golf Club Lane, BS31 3AA, on premises near main entrance doors.
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Community Bleed Kit at Saltford Sports Club, funded by SPC and owned by Saltford Sports Club.
Wedmore Road, Saltford, BS31 3BY (around the back of Saltford Hall, facing playing fields.)
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Community Bleed Kit on SPC’s phone box at The Bird pub (‘limpet’ style), funded by SPC and owned by The Bird.
High St / Mead Lane, BS31 3EJ, on rear of phone box exterior.
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Community Bleed Kit at the Norman Road phone box, as funded and owned by Saltford Parish Council.
Norman Road / A4 Bath Road junction, BS31 3AZ, on rear of phone box exterior.
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What is a Bleed Kit and why are they needed?
Though often associated with knife crime, Community Bleed Kits can be used in a range of situations including sports injuries, injuries at home, agricultural accidents and road traffic accidents. They are a basic tool to stop heavy bleeding no matter what the situation.
It only takes about four minutes to lose a critical amount of blood after a serious injury. Community bleed kits are designed for anyone to use – including those without medical training – and could make all the difference in those moments before emergency services arrive.
Community Bleed Kits include easy-to-use items like trauma bandages, haemostatic dressings, and tourniquets. In an emergency, members of the public should always call 999 first, and can then be guided through how to help by the call handler.
SPC hopes that none of the Community Bleed Kits in Saltford will ever be needed, but is pleased to have them available should there ever be an emergency. SPC urges residents to be aware of Bleed Kit locations in the village should they be required.
What if a Bleed Kit is used?
If a member of the public uses a Bleed Kit, or notices that a Bleed Kit has been used (yellow tag missing from the Bleed Kit), then please inform its owner who can then request the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership to maintain for future emergency use.
Members of the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership will regularly check Bleed Kits and replenish items as-and-when required. SPC thanks the Partnership for their ongoing support as part of their ‘legacy’ Bleed Kit initiative.
Information for owners of Bleed Kits funded by SPC and via Curo can be found at the end of this page.
Will SPC fund future Community Bleed Kits in Saltford?
At its January 2025 meeting, Saltford Parish Council resolved as part of its budget setting to earmark funds to install one new Community Bleed Kit in the village each year.
The first bleed kit from SPC’s 2025/26 budget is likely to be a ‘limpet’ model on the Norman Road Phone Box once a defibrillator has been installed. The installation of a defibrillator on the Norman Road phone box has encountered several delays due to the power supply being cut off following the road traffic accident that destroyed the original phone box at this location. SPC thanks Cllr Jon Godfrey and the landlord at The Crown pub for looking at alternative options for a battery powered defibrillator, as to be funded and maintained by The Crown. Once installed, a ‘limpet’ model is likely to be funded by SPC and attached to the defibrillator.
The ‘standalone’ Bleed Kit on the Norman Road phone box will then be relocated to another publicly accessible location in the village.
How to make a suggestion or request a Community Bleed Kit
Please contact SPC if you have suggestions for the location of future publicly accessible Community Bleed Kits. When making contact, please be aware that suggestions or requests for Community Bleed Kits must be in line with the criteria listed below:
All locations must be in Saltford (within Saltford Parish Council’s parish boundaries).
SPC is likely to favour locations where the recipient organisation or business owns and manages a publicly accessible (24/7 access) working defibrillator. Please see our ‘Defibrillators: Saltford‘ page.
Other 24/7 publicly accessible locations will also be considered, especially those where there is heavy footfall or traffic, and/or where there may not be another Community Bleed Kit nearby.
The Community Bleed Kit is located in a publicly accessible location available 24/7/365.
The recipient must register the Bleed Kit with Heartsafe on their bleed kit map once installed, so that it can be located in an emergency. Find out about how to register a Community Bleed Kit on the Heartsafe website here. This will be the responsibility of the recipient to do, not SPC. Once Bleed Kits are installed, SPC will look to share information about Bleed Kit locations in Saltford for resident awareness.
Saltford Parish Council will purchase the Community Bleed Kit and gift it to the recipient. SPC will not grant funds to enable recipients to directly purchase their own Bleed Kit. SPC will also not retrospectively fund any Bleed Kits that have already been purchased and/or installed.
The type of Community Bleed Kit given by Saltford Parish Council will be the ‘Standalone’ Model 2 version, to be attached to a suitable wall or similar surface. (If the recipient views that the ‘Limpet’ model would be a better option, please inform Saltford Parish Council when making your request. The recipient would need to be able to confirm that their defibrillator cabinet would be compatible with the Limpet model Community Bleed Kit). SPC is unable to fund other types of Bleed Kit.
Information for owners of SPC funded Bleed Kits
Please refer to the post-installation letter given to you by the Avon and Somerset Community Bleed Kit in January 2025. A simple to use instruction card is included with all kits.
The Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership has some simple asks of you:
Please let your colleagues, friends and surrounding businesses know about the availability of this kit.
Utilise social media to spread awareness (feel free to tag the partnership on Facebook ‘AVON AND SOMERSET BLEED KIT PARTNERSHIP’).
The property that the kit has been affixed to will have some spare safety tags which are usually yellow and secure the front of the unit – please notify the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership if you notice the tag is missing so it can be re secured.
Please also keep an eye on the unit for the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership. If you notice it has suffered damage, tampering, theft or if the pouch within is used – please just scan the QR code to report the specific issue and the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership will rectify it.