Why bleed control kits are unquestionably essential
Emergency preparedness may not be the most attractive subject you can think of, but with deliberate attacks taking place across the globe with alarming regularity - it’s simply naive not to have protective measures in place.
Atrocities are not reserved for the battlefield anymore. Just weeks ago the world was shocked when a gunman opened fire at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. 49 people were killed, 48 were wounded - The nation’s deadliest attack.
In the UK knife crime is reaching epidemic proportions and between 2001 and 2013 406,496 people died as a result of gun violence in America.
Attacks are far too frequent to be ignored and it’s critical that authorities demonstrate a commitment to safety. This is achievable by educating, equipping and empowering the public to protect themselves in the event of a mass casualty incident.
In light of this, we have accumulated evidence that backs this thinking up. Here are the top 10 reasons why we need to be taking bleeding control seriously:
1. Medical experts say so. As mass-casualty events and violent attacks in the U.S. continue to increase, military and emergency medicine experts are recommending that public venues install bleeding-control kits for at least 20 victims.
2. Hemorrhage control skills are proven to save lives. Soldiers who have hemorrhage-control skills have reduced battlefield deaths from 16 percent to 10 percent by being able to respond before medics arrive. In recent mass-casualty events such as the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the public also became “immediate responders”.
3. Research links weaker laws and higher levels of gun ownership to more gun deaths. A study, from researchers at Columbia, New York University, Boston University, and the University of Pennsylvania, analysed states’ mass shooting rates and revealed that where there are more guns, there are more mass shootings. And where gun laws are weaker, there are more mass shootings.
4. Knife crime in England and Wales is rapidly increasing. The number of crimes related to knives and other offensive weapons dealt with by the criminal justice system reached a nine-year high in 2018, figures show. The Ministry of Justice reported a total of 21,484 offences in England and Wales, the equivalent of 59 every single day.
5. Emergency services can’t always reach the scene in time, particularly in a lockdown scenario. Victims of the Manchester Arena attack said Britain “has to be better prepared” for potential terror attacks in future. They spoke out after a review into the emergency response to a bombing that killed 22 people last May, found that poor communication and policies meant First-aid trained firefighters did not respond for two hours.
6. More than 38,000 US citizens died from gunshot wounds in 2016 That’s the most recent year for which federal data is available. By that count, the national firearm death rate climbed to 12.0 per 100,000 people in 2016 — a level not seen since the mid-1990s.
7. It will reduce pre-hospital deaths According to the National Trauma Institute, a traumatic injury, hemorrhage, or major loss of blood, is responsible for over 35 percent of pre-hospital deaths and over 40 percent of deaths that occur within the first 24 hours.
8. There were 307 mass shootings in 311 days in the USA, in all, 328 people died in those incidents, and 1,251 were injured, according to the data. The numbers include incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooters, according to the archive.
9. The public wants to feel safe. After the massacre at a South Florida high school, demonstrators flooded streets across the globe in public protests, calling for action against gun violence.
10. Mass shootings are often too commonplace to make international headlines. The frequency of gun violence in America is such that multiple mass shootings can occur on the same day. Take, for example the day of the Mandalay Bay casino shooting in October last year. On the same day, some 13,000 miles away in Lawrence, another mass shooting occurred.
Overall, the examples used above highlight the increasing problem of mass casualty incidents and the need to prepare for them. With rising statistics around the world - it’s never been more critical to educate, equip and empower should the unthinkable happen.
Learn more about our Bleed Control Stations and Kits here
References:
> Public spaces should stock bleeding-control kits for mass casualties, experts say
> Study: where gun laws are weaker, there are more mass shootings
> Knife crime: Number of offences at nine-year high
> An American Crisis: 18 Facts About Gun Violence — and 6 Promising Ways to Reduce the Suffering
> Thousand Oaks makes 307 mass shootings in 311 days