Nikhil Misra teaching compression technique .JPGA consultant trauma surgeon from University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, alongside clinical volunteers from across the region, has helped more than 2,200 pupils gain the confidence and knowledge to act quickly in an emergency by learning how to recognise and respond to a life‑threatening bleed.

Stop the Bleed Day focuses on giving young people vital, life-saving skills, teaching them what to do following a serious injury, accident or violence. Uncontrolled bleeding is the single most preventable cause of death following trauma.

Held across 13 secondary schools, the event was supported by the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), KnifeSavers, citizenAID and the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (GMVRU).

Mr Nikhil Misra, Consultant Trauma Surgeon at Aintree University Hospital and founder of charity, KnifeSavers, said: “KnifeSavers was founded on the belief that anyone can save a life with the right knowledge. Stop the Bleed Day gives young people essential skills in a hands‑on, memorable way, and the response from Merseyside schools shows just how engaged and capable young people are when given these opportunities.”

Doctors and nurses from both Aintree University Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, as well as Whiston Hospital, joined clinical educators from LJMU and Edge Hill Universities, to offer engaging training sessions for pupils that provided simple, practical techniques such as:

  • how to recognise a life‑threatening bleed
  • how to pack a wound
  • apply direct pressure correctly
  • and how to improvise a tourniquet.

Pupils learning how to apply a tourniquet.JPGNigel Barraclough, Paramedic and National Project Lead for Stop the Bleed Day, said: “A person can bleed out in less than five minutes, yet the skills to prevent this are remarkably simple. By empowering young people with this knowledge today, schools across Merseyside are giving them the tools to save lives when every second counts.”

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “Early intervention is at the heart of everything we do and Stop the Bleed Day is a powerful example of prevention in action. By teaching young people practical, life‑saving skills, we are not only preparing them for emergencies but also helping them understand the real‑life consequences of violence in a safe and constructive way.

“We’re proud to be working with our partners at KnifeSavers to support this initiative. The training is easy to deliver, impactful and completely free for schools, and today we want as many pupils as possible across Merseyside to benefit.”

Stop the Bleed Day takes place nationally once a year, with the ambition of training tens of thousands of young people in a single day.