A group of Old Malden residents will spend an hour next week learning how to stop someone bleeding to death.

"That's not dramatic language, it's the point of the training," said Old Malden ward councillor Mike Massimi.

St John Ambulance will be running the free one hour sessions at Worcester Park Baptist Church, teaching ordinary residents how to pack a wound, apply pressure and use a bleed control kit. No medical background is needed.

The session timetable is as follows:

• Sunday 13 September, 12.30pm
• Monday 14 September, 3.15pm
• Tuesday 15 September, 2pm
• Tuesday 15 September, 8pm

The training is the latest piece of a project Cllr Massimi has run for five years.

He has funded and maintained most of Old Malden's public access defibrillators and bleed control kits through his Councillor Grant, and worked with St John Ambulance to train residents to use them.

The ward's 11th defibrillator has just gone in. A 12th is being installed now.

The new unit is fixed to a street lamp post, only the second in the ward to be done this way. It draws power from the street lighting, which means it can go on residential streets with no shop, church or community centre nearby to host it.

Nearly 230 residents have now trained to use an AED. The kit gets used, by trained residents and by emergency crews responding to incidents throughout the year.

The network has grown with the support of local churches, South Western Railway and residents across Old Malden.

Cllr Massimi said he wants the bleed control kits understood properly, too.

He added: "People often associate bleed control kits with knife crime or stabbing incidents.

"Of course, they can be vital in those situations, but major bleeding can happen in many other circumstances.

"Serious accidents can happen at home, on building sites or on the road. Cyclists and motorcyclists can be particularly vulnerable in collisions, and when someone suffers catastrophic bleeding, knowing what to do while waiting for the emergency services can make a critical difference."

Separately, Cllr Massimi, who will be attending the Tuesday session, is lobbying the NHS and health regulators to allow naloxone nasal spray to be stored in secure AED cabinets.

"That's still early days, and a story for another time," he said.

"For now, the 12th defibrillator is going in and training places are still open for next week."

Book your free training session here.

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