Burnley Tesco store hosts showcase for Burnley Lions' lifesaving 'message in a bottle' scheme

That's the Burnley Lions' 'message in a bottle' scheme that was showcased this week in the town's Tesco store. Volunteers handed out free bottles containing a form for information that would be of great use to medical staff when attending to treat someone at home who had fallen ill or had an accident.

The scheme was launched in 2005 and, with the help of the ambulance service, since then over 10,000 bottles having been issued in Burnley and Padiham and over 4,000 in Pendle since 2006.

The idea is that the bottle is kept in the fridge door and two stickers are used – one on the outside of the fridge to identify where that is and the other at eye height on the back of the front door, so that when people from the emergency services enter the property, they can immediately see that there is information in the fridge about the patient, especially if he or she could not communicate properly because of stroke, confusion or even unconsciousness.

The form contains information to identify the patient, any medical conditions, medication and where it is kept, any allergies, patient’s doctor and carer, if applicable, whether any pet, child or adult relies on them for something and contact details of relatives or friends.

Burnley Lion Frank Seed said ‘So many people say what a good and simple idea it is. The bottle takes up little space in the fridge, and is readily available for emergency service people. In some cases, paramedics have taken the bottle and medication with the patient to hospital, so it is advisable to keep an individual’s medication in a separate box to facilitate this.

"Also any repeat prescription could be included in the bottle. We are always looking for other distributing outlets and if any pharmacist, doctors surgery or other business would like to join in this worthwhile effort, they can contact me on 01282 7032348 and we’ll be glad to supply the bottles and a small display box.’