A TRAUMA surgeon who has witnessed first hand the devastation of severe bleeds and traumas has pushed for a bleeding control cabinet to be installed in St Helens.

This ’Knifesavers’ initiative is spearheaded by Nikhil Misra, a trauma surgeon who approached Rainford Parish Council.

He is dedicated to improving emergency response measures nationwide.

The cabinet – which will be installed near Red’s Café at the end of Leyland Road, Rainford - can be accessed in emergencies where someone is suffering from a severe bleed, whether due to a stab wound, accident, or other critical situations.

The cabinet contains four bleeding control kits, which contain specialist medical equipment such as bleeding control gauze and tourniquets.

This vital initiative aims to provide immediate support in emergencies and potentially save lives in the community.

The bleeding control cabinet in Rainford is part of the broader national ‘Knifesavers’ campaign, which originates from the Major Trauma Centre at Aintree University Hospital and is aimed at making these emergency resources more accessible to communities across the country.

He said: “I am very grateful to the Parish Council and local community for supporting the vision of the KnifeSavers campaign, which is to educate and empower literally anyone and everyone to recognise and control major bleeding due to any type of injury, not just knife wounds.

“When someone is injured and is bleeding, every second counts. It can take around 3 to 5 minutes for the injured person to bleed out and it can take an average of 7 to 8 minutes for an ambulance to arrive in an emergency.

“Knowing how to act in such a situation, as well as these bleeding control kits, can help to control major external bleeding and can buy vital time before the ambulance arrives.

“We have documented reports of a number of cases where these kits and our training have been used to control bleeding in injured people and have saved lives.”

The cabinet has been installed thanks to the generous support of Steve Farrar the owner of Rainford Fieldsports.

The installation was carried out free of charge by Gyles from Old Tom's Workshop, demonstrating the strength of community spirit and cooperation in Rainford.

He said: “I had no hesitation having this life-saving kit installed on our building as it could be the difference between life and death if someone is seriously hurt.

“I am delighted to have been able to help with this wonderful initiative in our village. It’s a potentially life-saving resource that could prove invaluable to our community”

Councillor Bernie Bowden has been a passionate advocate for this project since hearing of it and has played a crucial role in securing funding from Rainford Parish Council to make this possible.

She added: “This project is a testament to what we can achieve when our community comes together. I am incredibly thankful to Steve, Gyles, and Nikhil for their contributions and to the Parish Council for understanding the importance of such an initiative.

“This bleeding control cabinet could save lives, and that’s something we should all be proud of.”

In addition to the installation of the bleeding control cabinet, Nikhil is holding a training session on recognising and controlling major bleeding in an injury at Rainford Village Hall on October 17 at 7pm. The session is free.

For more information about the blood box and the wider initiative, please contact Rainford Parish Council at clerk@rainfordparishcouncil.gov.uk.