Life saving kit for Blackburn as Nationwide rolls out change

Nationwide Building Society is installing defibrillators and bleed kits at all of its branches by the end of the year, with the hopes of saving a life in the difficult public situations where ‘minutes and seconds matter’.

This is why it asked Blackburn with Darwen Council for permission to install the equipment at its King William Street premises, as part of the national rollout which is being supported by Visa and St John Ambulance.

In announcing the programme, Nationwide explained it wants to transform its physical branches into ‘emergency hubs’ where people know they can get help if someone is bleeding heavily or has suffered a cardiac arrest.

The new stab kit and defibrillator in the heart of Blackburn town centre will be available 24/7, with St John Ambulance agreeing to train all of the building society’s 4,000 staff on how to deal with these life-threatening situations.

Nationwide pointed out that fewer than one in 10 of the 40,000 cardiac arrests that happen outside of a hospital result in the patient surviving, in part due to the need for rapid CPR and a shock to reset the heart’s natural rhythm.

Former Eastenders actor and gang crime investigator Ross Kemp has backed the campaign, saying: "In a life-threatening emergency, you're reliant on those closest by and quick intervention can often be the difference between life and death. Minutes and seconds matter.

"Installing life-saving equipment across all Nationwide branches will make a difference by making support visible, accessible and linked to a well-known high street name.

"Just as importantly, St John Ambulance will be offering training to colleagues and communities - giving people more confidence to step in when it really counts."

Nationwide's branch on King William Street is getting some life-saving equipment (Image: Will Morgan)

The defibrillator and stab kit cabinets will have instructions on them to tell people what to do if the worst has just happened. Both state: “In an emergency: 1. Call 999 or 112.

“2. Keep calm and follow instructions. 3. Tell the call operator you are at location X. 4. Stay on the line for further guidance.”

While these life-saving cabinets are going up in a conservation area, and are directly opposite a listed building, Blackburn planners approved their installation and said they ‘would cause no discernible level of harm or loss’ to the character of the street.

Amanda Beech, Nationwide’s director of retail services, said: “Nationwide’s unique reach as the UK’s largest branch network gives us the ability to put life-saving equipment where it matters most - in places people already know and trust in their communities.

"By transforming our branches into visible, emergency hubs, we’re making it easier to access help when every second counts.

“Crucially, we’re also offering training to all our branch colleagues, before extending that training into the communities we serve.

"We want more people to feel prepared, confident and ready to act when it matters most.”