Braunstone Blues project to leave legacy of partnership working
A successful team aimed to reduce demand on the emergency services in an area of Leicester, will leave a legacy of partnership working, as it reaches the end of its project term.
Braunstone Blues, a multiagency team, consisting of staff from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service, will finish later this year.
Braunstone Blues was established in May 2015, as a two-year project, to reduce the number of calls to the emergency services in Braunstone. The team work with partners and residents to deliver a healthier, safer and more secure community, by educating and directing residents to appropriate services.
At the beginning of this year, the project was extended to September 2018, to continue their success and for further analytical work.
The team has been instrumental in providing a way forward for partnership and multiagency working, as well as trialling professionals from each of the emergency services to deliver each other’s expert key messages.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, and Fire and Rescue Service lead for the project, Andrew Brodie, said: “Braunstone Blues has demonstrated that the sum really is greater than the parts and we are all very proud of what has been achieved.
“Different organisations, each with something different to offer, have worked together to successfully manage demand for their services by helping local residents to prevent crime, increase safety and deter antisocial behaviour. Together they have delivered so much more than they would have done as individual agencies.”
To date the team have conducted 2,878 home visits, whereby discussions around the appropriate use of 999, social isolation, falls, fire safety, online and home security, are delivered to residents, as part of their ‘healthy, safe, and secure’ messages.
The team have also, trained more than 260 residents and Year 8 schoolchildren, in ‘Life Skills’, a free, three-hour session to highlight how emotions and social anxieties may directly affect the way they behave.
Andrew Brodie added: “While the way Braunstone Blues is currently delivered may change, the work will continue and the project has also provided a blueprint for the delivery of similar partnership schemes in other areas of high demand.”
Braunstone Blues Manager, Edd Rodgers, said: “We are so proud of the achievements, but most importantly, we are proud of the relationships we have made with, not only our partners and the agencies we work with, but also with the residents of Braunstone.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and would like to thank everyone who has been involved and supported us. We have achieved what we wanted to by reducing demand on the emergency services in Braunstone.
“The legacy of our healthy, safe and secure messages will live on in Braunstone and beyond.”
Braunstone Blues will continue until the end of September 2018, when the team will be disbanded back to their original organisations.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Interviews can be arranged through prior arrangement with Corporate Communications on the details below.
About the Service
In May 2015 Braunstone Blues was established. This is a dedicated team consisting of a Watch Manager and a Community Safety Educator 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.
The 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. With the population of the area being 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
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