Essex County Council partners with The Liam Taylor Legacy and funds 60 life-saving bleed kits

Essex County Council is funding 60 new, life-saving bleed control kits. The kits include the materials needed to stem life-threatening bleeding following an injury. This could be a traffic accident or serious fall. They have also been used to help victims of violent crime.

The Council is working with local campaigner, Julie Taylor, to distribute the new kits which are produced by Turtle an innovative manufacturer of defibrillator and bleed control cabinets, bleed control kits and supplier of medical equipment.

Julie’s grandson, Liam, 19, was tragically stabbed multiple times in Writtle, Chelmsford in 2020. Julie set-up The Liam Taylor Legacy in his memory and she devotes her life to preventing other families from suffering the same tragic loss as hers. The local scheme raises money to fund and distribute bleed kits across the county and further afield.

Julie Taylor and Councillor McKinlay hand over a bleed kit to Billericay Town FC’s Managing Director, Alex Morrissey.

The new kits will be available at different locations and venues in Essex. These include shops, pubs and schools. Billericay Town Football Club is one of the latest businesses to receive a kit.

Councillor Louise McKinlay, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Communities and Business Engagement, said: “Obviously, we hope these kits never have to be used. But in the unfortunate event they do, we are pleased that even more communities will have access to them. I would urge local people to find out where their nearest kit is and for businesses to make people aware that they have one. Knowing this could help to save a life.”

Venues including in Chelmsford, Braintree, Basildon, Billericay and Maldon and Witham have been given the bleed control kits but remote locations are also being covered. They are not just for knife attacks but can be used for serious road traffic collisions that may result in a life-threatening bleed.

Julie said: “We are going into the country pubs as well. I’ve got about 13 in Uttlesford. Being out in the sticks means it’s further for the ambulance to travel. It just makes sense. They need to be everywhere. You can die of a catastrophic bleed in three minutes. You are not going to get anyone out in that time. Five minutes is the maximum. I think every premise should have them. They are for any catastrophic bleed. There could be a major accident outside. If they are everywhere you can’t go wrong.”

Mike Dowson, founder and Managing Director of Turtle Defib Cabinets, said: “Julie is one of the very special people I get to speak to on a weekly basis. She devotes her life to preventing loss of life from bleed injuries, whether that’s the result of knife crime, a car accident, or another tragedy. I’d like to thank her for her ongoing work and support of our bleed kits, which came about thanks to the foresight and passion of The Daniel Baird Foundation and West Midlands Ambulance Service. With Essex County Council funding another 60 specialist medical bags, Julie really is succeeding in placing the kits everywhere across the county in case the worst should happen.”

The Liam Taylor Legacy Logo

Funding for the new kits is one part of Essex County Council’s ongoing community safety work. It also recently launched a new £100,000 Community Safety Initiatives Fund. Local groups can apply for grant funding to invest in initiatives that promote public safety. The aim is to benefit communities and address issues around violence and vulnerability.