Plan for taxi drivers to carry stab wound bandages

Taxis carrying military-standard bandage kits for stab wounds could soon beryllium connected the streets successful parts of southbound Wales.

A foundation tally by an ex-soldier and constabulary serviceman hopes to contented 50 kits to cabbies successful Cardiff, arsenic portion of an expanding web that includes six different UK cities.

Kits carried by taxi drivers, identified by stickers connected their vehicles, could past beryllium flagged down by members of the nationalist if they are assisting anyone with a stab wound.

“It’s a grim information that you tin bleed to decease successful nether 5 minutes,” said Alex Chivers, co-founder of Rapaid.

“The quicker attraction begins, the amended your chances of survival.”

Thousands of Rapaid kits are already successful circulation astir London, Manchester, Oxford, Exeter, Swindon and Plymouth, with Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan being the adjacent areas to benefit.

The kits see bandages designed to stem superior humor loss, with Mr Chivers saying that having them arsenic accessible arsenic imaginable to the nationalist was a priority.

“From my acquisition arsenic a constabulary serviceman and the military, it’s usually the nationalist that are the archetypal radical connected country earlier anybody arrives, earlier assistance comes,” helium said.

“It’s those archetypal aureate minutes that radical request something.

“I conscionable thought to myself, wherefore person the nationalist not got entree to these bandages, and however tin we get them retired into the nationalist domain?

“Taxis are successful and retired of our communities time and night, they’re connected each the precocious streets astatine nighttime time. They’re extracurricular each the blistery spots.”

Figures amusement infirmary admissions successful Wales for battle with crisp objects has dropped recently, with 60 admissions successful the twelvemonth up to March 2024.

This was a 19% simplification connected the erstwhile twelvemonth (74), and a 50% driblet connected the figures from 5 years agone (121).

The fig of weapon and crisp instrumentality offences recorded by constabulary successful Wales has besides fallen somewhat from a precocious of 1,680 successful 2019-20, though the figures past twelvemonth (1,584 offences) remained much than doubly arsenic precocious arsenic they were a decennary ago.

And with astir fractional of those offences committed successful the South Wales Police area, Mr Chivers admitted weapon transgression was inactive a occupation wrong immoderate communities.

“It’s amended to person the kits and not request them, but if 1 bandage saves 1 life, past we’ve achieved what we want,” helium said.

The kits are not reserved lone for victims of weapon crime, however, with Mr Chivers saying that kits had already been utilized crossed the state for different injuries arsenic well, specified arsenic those involving drunk revellers oregon breached glass.

The purpose was not to load taxi drivers with much responsibility, helium added, and they could simply “hand them over” to bystanders helping idiosyncratic successful need.

Stickers successful the model would place those taxis carrying the kits, with those successful Cardiff besides including bilingual instructions to usage the bandages and assistance the injured person.

“What I’d emotion to spot is that these are connected the taxis crossed the full country, and it conscionable becomes mean that they transportation these,” said Mr Chivers.

“People person already been saved. It’s conscionable specified a elemental idea.”

The scheme, launched successful Cardiff connected Friday, already has the backing of the council, taxi drivers and South Wales Police.

“The authorization are delighted that drivers successful the metropolis volition beryllium capable to transportation these kits and for the run to beryllium disposable successful the city,” said Rhys Morgan, from Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan licencing section.

He added: “Having the tools disposable crossed the metropolis to assistance successful preparedness and effect to superior accidents oregon emergencies is simply a measurement guardant successful providing enactment to the wider daytime and nighttime system successful the city.”