Five bleed kits are being installed across the Bexley borough to help save lives in the event of serious injury.

The life-saving kits will be publicly accessible so that members of the public can help someone in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

All of the kits will be registered with the London Ambulance Service – so if you need assistance or are a bystander looking to help someone, a 999 caller can advise you on how to access and use the kits.

Councillor Gower, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said that while “Bexley is already a safe borough”, these kits could help save lives if “someone is wounded, whether that be by a road traffic accident, a bad fall or in the unlikely event of a knife attack”.

The kits will be located at the Aspire Pharmacy (Sidcup High Street), Bexleyheath Central Library and Erith College.

There are plans for another two Bleed Control Kits which will be stationed in the north of the borough but the locations of these bleed kits are yet to be confirmed.

The funding for the five bleed kits came from the Department for Education and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

The MOPAC provides a grant of up to £5,000 to deliver prevention work for the boroughs that request it.

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Councillor Peter Craske, Cabinet Member for Places, said: “We know on average it takes an ambulance about seven minutes to reach a patient.

“But traumatic bleeding from serious injuries can prove fatal in as little as three minutes.

“These kits can save lives as treatment can begin before the paramedics arrive.”

Councillor Gower, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Bexley is already a safe borough and by continuing to work in partnership with all our colleagues and external agencies we aim for it to remain that way.

“If someone is wounded, whether that be by a road traffic accident, a bad fall or in the unlikely event of a knife attack, then help is at hand to empower members of the community to save lives whist waiting for the emergency services.”