1. Making Every Contact Count
Why?
WMFS could contribute to Health & Wellbeing Agenda
Fits WMFS Action Plans (Links: alcohol, smoking and risk of fires & injuries)
Proactive prevention & improves awareness of service providers
Opportunities – contacts with public during home safety checks
Seemed to ‘fit’ with Vulnerable Persons Officer visits
‘Safe’ (ie. not about becoming specialists & other brigades had done training)
Potential to improve staff health & wellbeing

2. Making Every Contact Count
What We Did & How?
Liaised with Public Health Contacts (Deryn Bishop & Anne McLeod)
‘Alcohol Brief Advice’ and ‘Healthy Lifestyles Team’ training (delivered to Vulnerable Persons Officers)
Training was given a ‘fire service’ emphasis
A specific ‘aide-memoire for fire service staff’ given out
Useful example text of how to broach subject.
Ask, Advise Assist
OARS: Open Questions, Affirmation, Reflections, Summaries
Enable access more funding
(including fundraising activities & membership scheme)
Enable prevention based activities to be maintained
(Including Enabling multi agency projects to be delivered & staff to be employed)
Enable flexibility and innovation in delivery of services/projects
(eg. employment of sessional & fixed contract staff)
Enable closer links with third and private sectors
(due to charity status)
Provide a good return on investment
(potential of funding gained)

3. Making Every Contact Count
Barriers
Lack of knowledge/understanding about MECC
Lack of understanding of WMFS links to H&WB
Lack of confidence in broaching certain issues
Lack of awareness of service providers
Lack of Information to give to individuals
Charitable status gained
Board Meetings & AGM held
New Directors appointed
and …..Roles given to Directors
Roles given to Directors
(Chair, Company Secretary, Treasurer)
Fundraising for insurances carried out
(YFA)
3 Funding streams researched and selected for bid submission
(Awards For All, the Tudor Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund)

4. Making Every Contact Count
Review?
VPOs fill out a report after each visit
Level 2 Plan monitors number of signposting referrals
MECC will be included in brigade Action Plans
MECC training now to be given to operational crews.
Development needed for evaluation & outcomes
Re-fresh of training?
Broad range of pro-active, committed Directors
Successful funding submissions & fundraising
(including WMFS operational Staff fundraising for the charity)
and ……… Delivery & evaluation of successful projects
And …………Staff employed by the charity
Staff employed by the charity
Internal & external awareness of the charity raised
(Awareness raising presentations to external agencies etc)
And a website created!!
A membership scheme established

5. Ops Crews, Advocates, VPO’s,
Activities (Milestones)
What activities do you plan to deliver and when by
Activities Deadline
Inputs
What resources are required to deliver your activities (e.g. finance, people equipment)
Outputs
What will your activities produce, how much and to whom. These are direct, measurable products or services of activities.
Short Term Outcomes (0-1 year) Changes in learning, knowledge, skills. These are changes you expect to occur immediately or very soon after the activities are delivered and occur as a direct result of your activities and outputs
Intermediate Outcomes (1-2 years) Changes in action, behaviour and practice These are changes you want to occur after the short term outcomes have been achieved. They are the link between the short term outcomes and longer term impact
Impact (3 years +)
Change in conditions: social, economic, political and environmental. This is change you hope will occur over time. Impact is harder to measure and can be less attributable to the objective because there may be other interventions aiming to achieve the same impact.
Work in partnership to improve health and wellbeing through reducing inequalities by addressing the wider social determinates of health within the community
April 2014
Ops Crews, Advocates, VPO’s,
Fire Control, Partners, Volunteers,
ICT, Statistics,
CS Team, Ops Commanders, Station Commanders, Station Personnel,
VPO Leads
Improved staff awareness and understanding of the wider determinates of health related issues and inequalities and WMFS personnel supporting health agenda priorities
Increased numbers of partnerships with health organisations and service providers
Increased number of people receiving healthy lifestyle information or signposting where appropriate through initial interventions
Reduce the number of fires, deaths and injuries
Improve the safety, health and
well-being of our local communities.
All VPO’s and 50% of operational staff to receive Making Every Contact Count [MECC] training and working to embed MECC across the West Midlands
WMFS Level 3 Plans:
Communities & Partnerships, Performance Management, People
Wolverhampton City Strategy: ‘Prosperity for All’
Encouraging enterprise and business
Empowering people and communities
Re-invigorating our city
Also:
New Police & Crime Comissioners - Government pushing for community safety provision in borough to be put up for tender by community & voluntary orgs – will be commisioners decision but Gov want this. Ie. Vol & Comm orgs would put expressions of interest in to bid for funding for running services.

6. Making Every Contact Count
Feedback from VPOs
“I haven’t personally made referrals with regard to Alcohol use-not yet anyway, but I would certainly feel confident to. I could approach the subject in an appropriate fashion & offer advice”.
“I’ve not referred someone back yet but it may be the case when ……. & me visit the ….. family as there are alcohol issues with the family”.
“It is still quite hard to broach the subject though, due to not wanting to offend”
“It’s good to have the knowledge”
“Even for information it was worth it” (doing the training)

7. Making Every Contact Count
Any Questions?
Making Every Contact Count