Emergency trauma kits rolled out for door staff

Emergency trauma kits are being issued to security and door staff at bars and pubs in the event of a knife or bottle attack.

The trauma kits are being rolled out across Wakefield and Pontefract to enable a fast response before the arrival of police and paramedics.

WF Security's Nikki Finan, whose staff have volunteered to take part, said the company wanted a third of door staff to be trained.

Lisa Theobald, whose son Ryan was fatally stabbed on a night out in Doncaster, said: "It's a really good idea, the door staff having these kits, if they can save somebody's life."

Ms Finnan said: "All our staff are radioed-up, so if you have an incident where you've got a member of staff who is not trauma trained, you've got a member of trained staff on the end of the radio who can be there to assist."

Thirty trauma kits, costing about £7,000, have been funded by Wakefield's Community Safety Partnership.

The trauma kits contain a number items to manage a catastrophic haemorrhage, including latex gloves, a tourniquet, haemostatic gauze, pressure bandages and chest seals in case of injury to the torso.

The roll-out coincides with Knife Crime Awareness Week, which highlights the risks and consequences of knife crime.

Ryan Theobald, 21, died after he was stabbed twice during a night out in January 2022.

Ms Theobald said her family had been suffering ever since.

"The pain never goes away, we're still in therapy three years on, it's really hard just to get through a day."

Every time there was a stabbing, Ms Theobald said it was like reliving the experience over again.

"I don't know whether it's because we're more aware of it now, but there's definitely been more stabbings. There's people carrying knives at school. It's getting out of hand."

Ms Theobald welcomed the idea of trauma kits being provided to door staff at pubs and clubs in Wakefield.

"I'm not going to say if they had one they could have saved Ryan, I don't think they would have done because of the amount of blood Ryan lost and where it was he was stabbed, but they could save someone else's life and that's what matters," she added.

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