Defibrillator & Bleed Control Cabinets: Separate or Combined? (Part 1)

When it comes to saving lives, access to the right equipment at the right time makes all the difference. Increasingly, communities, councils, and businesses are investing in public defibrillators (AEDs) and bleed control kits—two critical tools for tackling the UK’s leading causes of preventable death: sudden cardiac arrest and catastrophic bleeding.

Our customers often ask: should these be housed in separate cabinets or combined into a single, combination cabinet?

In this first of two blogs, we look at the advantages of having two bespoke cabinets and explain why one of our customers chose this option.

New Customer comes to Turtle Medical for Bleed Kit

Following the success of their first open day, Youth Connect 24, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group came to us for help with this year’s event. They had decided to centre it around safety in the community. Like many communities, they have been increasingly concerned by the nationwide growth in knife crime. They wanted to show their popular youth group that there is lots of support available for those who say ‘No’ to knives.

Although the youth team is a longstanding group that has been running for 15 years, these annual open days are a new addition to the calendar. They provide a real opportunity both to celebrate successes and to raise awareness of new initiatives and facilities.

Samantha Maunder, the group’s Neighbourhood Youth Manager, found The Daniel Baird Foundation online. She contacted Turtle to discuss options for installing an emergency bleed control kit at the centre. With a clear focus on providing equipment that could be accessed 24/7 by anyone in the community, a locked bleed cabinet quickly rose to the top of their wish list.

During our discussions on emergency first aid, we also discovered that the Housing Group already had a defibrillator—but it was kept inside and therefore only available during centre opening hours.

At this point, we offered to quote for either a combination cabinet or two separate units, so that both the existing defibrillator and the new bleed control kit would be accessible 24 hours a day in the event of a cardiac arrest or catastrophic bleed.

Two emergency medical cabinets have the obvious disadvantages of being a) more expensive and b) taking up more space. So, what are the pros?

✅ Pros of Separate Defibrillator & Bleed Control Cabinet  

Clear Purpose –

Each cabinet is dedicated to a single piece of equipment, reducing confusion in emergencies. A passer-by knows exactly where to go for a defibrillator or for a bleed kit.
Here at Turtle, we use colour coding for our public medical cabinets, which is why our bespoke bleed control cabinets are always red. (Other colours are available for our defib/combination cabinets—see the website for our full range.)

Flexibility in Placement –

AEDs are often placed in central, highly visible areas, whereas bleed kits may be better located near venues with higher risks (nightlife areas, construction zones, or knife crime hotspots). Most customers who opt for two individual cabinets do choose to have them side by side, but others prefer to install just a defib cabinet or just a bleed cabinet.
While defibrillators are temperature-sensitive (they need to be kept warm and dry), bleed control kits have no temperature restrictions. This affects both costs and possible locations. Turtle’s heated defib cabinets require a power source and professional installation by a qualified electrician, while our bleed control cabinets do not require power and can either be installed by customers themselves or by one of our experienced engineers.

Independent Maintenance –

If one cabinet needs repair or replacement, the other remains accessible.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our products: the oldest Turtle cabinets, installed in 2012, are still going strong today. IP66 rated, they can endure the worst of the British weather along with some pretty heavy knocks. Occasionally, though, due to vandalism, neglect, or even a leaky gutter, we do carry out repairs or replacements. This means a cabinet can be out of action for a short time, forcing guardians to move the contents to an indoor, time-restricted location. Separate cabinets makes this less disruptive to the emergency medical provision.

Security –

If a bleed control kit is accessed from a combination cabinet, the valuable defibrillator is potentially vulnerable to damage or loss. To address these concerns, Turtle offers both cabinet monitoring and a defibrillator tracker, meaning a combined cabinet can still provide ease of access and security. Separate cabinets do offer reassurance to those concerned about security, if a bleed kit is required it can be accessed without opening the defib cabinet, and vice versa. Most customers opt for our locked cabinets as an extra layer of security, however Turtle do offer both unlocked defib cabinets and unlocked bleed cabinets if preferred.

Separate or Combined Defib & Bleed Cabinet?

With the Youth Connect 25 event scheduled for the end of August, a decision was needed. After weighing up the pros and cons, Wythenshawe chose to have Turtle install a defibrillator cabinet and a separate bleed control cabinet at their building entrance. Samantha explains why:

“We chose to install two separate cabinets to make it easier for people to quickly identify and access the right equipment in an emergency. The bright yellow defibrillator cabinet and the bright red emergency bleed control kit are visually distinct, which helps reinforce their purpose and location — especially important for young people, who were central to this project.”

The Wythenshawe event — which included the unveiling of the two cabinets hidden behind a mystery box — was a resounding success, with almost 500 members of the local community in attendance. Turtle are proud to be involved in another community event, improving emergency first aid provision. Whilst we hope that the public defibrillator and bleed control kit are never needed, they will surely bring peace of mind to Youth Club members as well as to their families, friends, and the wider community.

Two emergency first aid cabinets or one?

Your choice will depend on your community, location, and budget.

Ultimately, whether separate or combined, the real priority is ensuring that life-saving equipment is accessible, visible, and properly maintained. Communities thrive when they’re prepared, and these resources—however housed—can mean the difference between life and death.

Want to hear the other side of the story? Look out for Part 2, where we explore the advantages of Turtle’s combination cabinets.