Wellingborough village welcomes lifesaving bleed kit to help community first aiders

As part of their 75th birthday celebrations, WI members wanted to mark the group’s milestone with a practical addition to help Bozeat residents by providing a ‘bleed kit’ outside the village shop in London Road.

Bleed kits can be used in the event of a catastrophic blood loss from any cause – not just a stabbing – and can be housed in keypad-secured metal boxes like a public defibrillator.

When Bozeat WI president Jill Russell bumped into North Northamptonshire Council Cllr Tom Partridge-Underwood (Con, Irchester) at an event, she told him about the WI’s plans to fundraise for the equipment, he offered to help.

Jill said: “A year ago we were concerned about all the stabbings and we heard about the Daniel Baird Foundation. We decided to fundraise for the kit but it comes without the metal box.”

After telling Cllr Partridge-Underwood of the plans, he went to fellow Irchester ward councillors Cllr Jon-Paul Carr (Con) and Cllr Martin Griffiths (Ind), who agreed to fund the box and kit using £200 each from their member empower funds.

Speaking about the bleed kit, Jill said: “You just don’t know when you might need one. We have many people in the village on blood thinners, it’s not just about stabbings, it can be used for any catastrophic bleed. It’s just another community asset that enhances life here.”

Cllr Partridge-Underwood said: “The WI do so much fundraising, we thought we’d give them a rest. We made a unanimous decision. The bleed kit is a must for urban and rural areas I just hope it will never be used.”

Cllr Griffiths said: “Pooling our empowerment money has really helped benefit local groups. Ultimately this £200 might save someone’s life.”

The WI have now donated funds to Bozeat Parish Council to enable the bleed kit to be restocked. They are also hoping to provide another bleed kit to be placed at the village sports’ field.

Cllr Carr added: “The fact that it’s with the defibrillator makes it even more useful. We’ve got an excellent ambulance service, but when you live in a rural community you never know when it might be needed.”