NUH offers life-saving training
Experts from Queen’s Medical Centre’s Major Trauma Centre, part of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), are offering the local community life-saving skills to help make the city safer…… in what is believed to be an NHS first.
The Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) has purchased 100 medical kits for distribution around Nottingham city centre, which will be placed in areas such as shopping centres, shops, bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs and entertainment venues. They will also be provided to groups that operate in the city centre street pastors, taxi marshals, neighbourhood policing teams and CPOs. The aim is to equip people with items they can use in the event of someone being seriously injured.
Experts from the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre at QMC will run running training sessions for people to show them how best to use the kits, with NUH the first NHS Trust in the country to take this step in a bid to improve safety in Nottingham, in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police. The first training sessions take place today.
Adam Brooks is Clinical director for the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, which is the busiest trauma centre in the country with some of the strongest outcomes for the most critically injured patients. He said: “We have a responsibility to work with our partners across the city to do all we can to tackle violent crime, including knife crime, and prevent unnecessary injuries and loss of life. This training course – called ‘Stop the Bleed’ – is unique in the NHS and the first time clinical teams from an NHS Trust have taught the local community who may find themselves being bystanders, the training and necessary skills that could save more lives by knowing how to stop bleeding. Nottingham is the first NHS Trust in the country to offer this training to members of the local community and following the first course this Thursday, we hope to run further sessions - for free - to improve safety in Nottingham.”
Inspector Anwaar Ahmed, Inspector for Community Protection at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Nottinghamshire Police and partners work extremely hard to prevent and enforce against violent crime and this initiative is a great example of partners coming together to come up with an innovative response to the issue that could potentially save lives.
“If the worst should happen and someone is seriously injured by violence or a serious accident these medical packs will ensure victims can be given swift treatment on the spot while the emergency services are on their way.”
Jeff Allen, chairman of Nottingham BID said: “It is an unfortunate fact that violent crime is on the increase in the UK. Nottingham has thankfully suffered less from this than other major cities. While we believe strongly that education and prevention are key for reducing violence, it is still essential that as a city we are properly prepared. This initiative follows closely on the heels of the BID’s installation of defibrillators across the city and is part of the ongoing programme of working with partners to improve safety and wellbeing in the city.”