First aider helping pensioner shocked to find no kits on buses

Lauren Busbridge, 21, a first aider who lives in Tadworth, said she saw an 84-year-old man get pushed over while getting on the 418 bus by Epsom Clock Tower at about 1.30pm.

After running to his assistance Ms Busbridge found there was no first aid kit on the bus and drivers are not trained in first aid and cannot treat injured people.

She said: "I’m really shocked and gobsmacked. They should have first aid kits onboard."

Ms Busbridge, who works in a nursery, and her friend Terri Rees, 22, who had been sitting together at the back of the bus, had to get tissues and ice from nearby shops.

She said: "He had blood coming down his cheek. People on the bus who knew first aid like me are not meant to give treatment without gloves."

She said they sat the man up and held the tissue to his cheek, which was badly bruised, before the ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later.

A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said paramedics treated the man at the scene and took him to Epsom Hospital.

Steve Whiteway, managing director of Epsom Coaches

Steve Whiteway, managing director of Epsom Coaches, said they had tried having first aid kits on buses in the past but it had never worked.

Mr Whiteway said: "If you did have first aid kits, they would not last five minutes. It’s a job to keep emergency hammers bolted down.

"It’s not because we are not a caring company. It’s for practical reasons that we do not have first aid kits on buses." He said a lot of people get on and off buses, which are open plan, and emergency hammers are routinely stolen. He added: "It’s a hostile world out there."

Mr Whiteway said bus drivers can call for first aid assistance very quickly but it would not be practical to train every bus driver and give them refresher courses.

He said: "To train drivers in first aid is fraught with difficulties. We can’t ensure not being sued by somebody if we do the wrong thing.

"If you have not got training, it can do more harm than good."

He also commended first aiders and doctors who step forward in an emergency. He said: "It was very nice of this lady to help."

But Ms Busbridge dismissed the danger of theft as a reason for not carrying first aid boxes saying boxes could be locked away or kept under the seat in the driver’s cabin.

She said: "They keep fire extinguishers on buses. Why can’t they keep first aid boxes that are surely just as important?"

She said bus drivers could be trained in waves and would only need refresher courses every three years while all first aiders risk potential liability.

She argued that helping without training was better than doing nothing, adding: "Do they prefer to have bus drivers just sitting there when an elderly man is in danger?"