LEICESTERSHIRE PCC AND HOME OFFICE MINISTER VISIT PIONEERING BLUE LIGHT PARTNERSHIP
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach and Baroness Williams, Minister of State at the Home Office, paid a visit earlier today to a pioneering partnership created to reduce the demand on blue light services.
The Braunstone Blues is a team of blue light services including Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police and the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Lord Bach and Baroness Williams were introduced to the team at its base in Caldecote School, where members explained how their positive engagement work with local residents helps to reduce demand on police, fire and ambulance services.
Explaining the project’s innovative approach to the Baroness, Willy Bach said: “Their success lies in focusing on prevention and education to reduce risk and harm among those people identified as creating the highest demand to the services. By stopping incidents happening in the first place, this helps to free up valuable resources for the three services and ensure that they can continue providing the quality emergency services that the public expects.”
After talking with the team, the PCC and Baroness were taken through some of the high demand points on the Braunstone Estate before visiting a service user at home.
Baroness Williams, Minister of State for the Home Office said: “I was delighted to visit the team to learn about how emergency services in Leicestershire are working in partnership to help residents. Seeing first hand a member of the community benefiting from a Braunstone Blues home visit really reiterates the value of collaboration and how it can ensure communities are better served.”
Willy Bach said afterwards: “The first-hand account from someone who has benefited directly from the partnership’s home visits was fascinating and gave us both valuable insight from the service-user’s perspective.”
Shelley Jackson, a paramedic with East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “We were honoured to host Baroness Williams and Lord Bach and show the benefits of 999 services working together. It is really important that we share these initiatives with home office colleagues to demonstrate what can be achieved by collaborative working.”
Phil Kay, Assistant Chief Constable for Leicestershire Police said: “The team is having a positive impact on the residents and community groups in Braunstone. Working with other emergency services and wider partners, Braunstone Blues aims to create a healthy, safe and secure community by educating and directing residents to appropriate services, by making sure homes are safer using a free home visit service and delivering appropriate campaigns to help reduce the number of emergency calls.”
The partnership offers free 30-minute ‘healthy, safe and secure’ home visits and advice on issues that include home and vehicle security, home and fire safety, child safety and health and wellbeing. Help with loneliness, anxiety, depression and dealing with antisocial behaviour is also offered, along with information about other organisations that may be able to provide support. This approach, which is still in its pilot stage, aims to prevent emergencies and avoid unnecessary blue light calls on all three services.
Braunstone Blues benefits from £314,000 in funding from the Commissioner’s Strategic Partnership Development Fund.
ENDS
Download a PDF version here.
Notes to editors:
- To find out more about Braunstone Blues please contact Braunstone Blues on 07800 709 802 or braunstone.blues@lfrs.org
- You can follow Braunstone Blues on social media:
Facebook: @braunstoneblues
Twitter: @braunstoneblues
Instagram: braunstoneblues
About the Braunstone Blues
In May 2015 Braunstone Blues was established. This is a dedicated team consisting of a Watch Manager and a Community Safety Advisor from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service; Police Constable, and Police Community Support Officer, from Leicestershire Police; and a Paramedic from East Midlands Ambulance Service. The team has since extended to a second Paramedic and an Occupational Therapist.
999 demand data from all three services was analysed and it was found that the small geographical area of Braunstone produced close to 4,600 999 calls every year. This was roughly a 56% EMAS, 40% Police, and 4% Fire. The population of the area was 15,700 people living in 6,000 homes. This was shown to be the highest area of demand in all of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
The team work with partners and residents of Braunstone to deliver a healthier, safer and more secure community by educating and directing residents to appropriate services via a home visit service and delivering appropriate campaigns, to reduce the number of emergency calls in the area.
There are four main streams of work for Braunstone Blues; Home Visits, Community Events, working with high demand users and running Life Skills sessions in the community.
Contact:
Jessica Essex
Braunstone Blues Communications Officer
07966 111 273
jessica.essex@lfrs.org
