Distinct from a conventional first aid kit, the Parabag includes trauma dressing, tourniquet, a dressing to stem heavy blood loss and treatment for facial burns, a biomask, foil blanket, among other things.
Now MD of medical supplies company SP Services, Steve Bray originally designed the kitbag for himself “just in case” he got caught up in an incident. “I came up with this small med kit idea in 2015 which I wear on my belt while travelling around London, whether in my business suit or casual wear. It’s an unassuming, easy to wear kit that anyone can carry.”
“I got it because I do an extensive amount of travelling. I’m in and out of airports all the time and I wanted something for me and others if I am on the scene of an incident where people need urgent medical help.”
The recent wave of terror attacks across Europe prompted him to make the bag available to the general public.
“I know I’m more likely to come across a cardiac arrest than a terrorist attack but following the terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, Nice and Munich, I had become concerned that if I ever got caught up in one, I wouldn’t have any kit with me to help the injured,” said Steve.
“I also had a slightly selfish motive as I might also need some med kit to look after myself if I was one of the injured.”
Security services have foiled seven terror plots in the last six months and they still deem another UK attack as “highly likely”. While an absence of paramedic training obviously limits what members of the public can do during an incident, Bray believes they could take action in the minutes waiting for professional medics to arrive that could save lives – if they have the right equipment to hand and some knowledge of how to use it.
“There is no excuse not to be prepared especially as lots of companies are now also providing short courses on how to deal with immediate life threatening injuries such as citizenAID,” he said.
While his car boot is always loaded with medical equipment, Bray never had anything to use when travelling on the train, tube or at an airport. As a paramedic officer with the London Ambulance Service, Alan Payne, 50, has attended numerous major incidents over the years involving planes and trains.