Press release published on 3 December 2018

Every police response vehicle in Northamptonshire is to be equipped with a special trauma response kit and every frontline police officer will be trained to deal with major traumatic injuries in a move that will improve both public and officer safety.

The specialist packs contain the essential equipment needed to allow a response officer who is first on the scene of an incident to treat major injuries of any kind and administer potentially life-saving emergency first aid.

It is believed that Northamptonshire Police are first in the country to deploy the trauma kits and train frontline officers to use them, giving an additional level of first aid skill and enabling officer to treat serious wounds or other trauma.

Kits are being placed in each of the Force’s response vehicles and 275 frontline police officers will receive the enhanced training in a rolling programme over the coming months.

The trauma kits have been funded by Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold and supplied by the East Midlands Ambulance Service at a concessionary rate.  The kits contain a tourniquet, emergency bandages and haemostatic gauze, designed to create a clot and staunch major bleeding – all equipment that trained officers will be able to use to give vital treatment in the critical moments until medical responders arrive.

Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said:  “Frontline officers are in many cases first on the scene of any incident and they are trained and ready to tackle any emergency head on.  I am proud of the way our officers respond to emergencies, without any thought for the risks they often face and I am pleased that with these kits, we can take their training to the next level and give them the tools to better protect both the public and themselves.”

Assistant Chief Constable James Andronov, said: “These packs will be a great use for our officers who are often the first at the scene of an incident and are faced with members of the public with serious injuries, whether that’s from an assault, road traffic collision or unfortunate accident.

“I support anything that allows our officers to provide an enhanced service to the public and these kits will allow our officers to provide essential help until colleagues from EMAS arrive.

“All officers being issued with the kits are being given training in how to use them to make sure they are as affective as possible when attending an incident.”