Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service - Experts & Thought Leaders

Fire service leaders, medical experts, HR professionals and those affected by menopause gathered at The Rep (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), in central Birmingham last week for the NFCC’s first Menopause in Fire conference. The NFCC Menopause in Fire conference, which took place on Thursday, 21 September, 2023, offered a unique opportunity for colleagues within the fire and rescue sector to learn more about the menopause by hearing from medical experts, keynote speakers and those who shared their own experiences. NFCC Menopause in Fire conference Dr. Newson has appeared on numerous television and radio programs talking about the menopause National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) was delighted to welcome renowned menopause specialist, GP, Author and Podcaster, Dr. Louise Newson as the conference’s keynote speaker. Dr. Newson has appeared on numerous television and radio programs talking about the menopause and is a regular guest on ITV’s This Morning.  She spoke passionately about her work to support individuals who are experiencing perimenopause and menopause, focusing on the ‘debilitating’ symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as physical and mental illness. Importance of talking openly about menopause Dr. Newson also talked about having worked closely with organizations to help them better support employees who are impacted, and the importance of talking openly about menopause and, crucially, keeping the conversation going. Dr. Newson was joined by Dr. Rebecca Lewis, Co-Founder of Newson Health and an expert clinician in the treatment of menopause symptoms. Describing menopause as a ‘Cinderella’ subject that has not been addressed in the right way medically for many years, Dr. Lewis explained treatment options, their risks and benefits, and dispelled some of the myths around Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Key objectives of the conference To share good practice Other speakers included Government Menopause Employment Champion - Helen Tomlinson, Jules King from Women in the Fire Service, Neil Taylor from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Dr. Emily Watkins, from Roehampton University, who spoke about fitness and well-being, and AJ Whittaker, who explained some of the support available for those affected by menopause from The Fire Fighters Charity.  One of the key objectives of the conference was to share good practice and case studies were shared by Cambridgeshire and Kent Fire and Rescue Services about some of the things they had achieved within their services, while two women spoke about their own experiences with honesty, openness and a huge amount of support from colleagues in the room. Featuring interactive sessions An interactive session asked delegates to think about what more could be done to raise awareness In the afternoon, an interactive session asked delegates to think about what more could be done to raise awareness and understanding of the menopause, and its impact within fire and rescue services, and how NFCC could support services to do that. The idea for a national conference on menopause in the fire and rescue service came from a network of fire service menopause champions, who wanted to raise awareness of the menopause and how it is supported more widely across the sector. Platform to learn, network and share experiences Hayley Douglas, the Head of Media and Communications and a Menopause Champion at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, was the driving force behind the conference. She said: “When the network of menopause champions first spoke about a national conference, we had no idea it would be such a huge success.” She adds, “We are grateful to NFCC for hosting the event, and delighted to have had the time and support of Dr. Louise Newson and her team at Newson Health, along with colleagues in fire and rescue services across the country to be able to come together, learn, network and share experiences about menopause.” Menopause is a key topic that impacts in many different ways Hayley Douglas continues, “Menopause is such an important topic and it impacts people in many different ways, physically, mentally and emotionally, and this cannot be simply switched off while at work. Menopause shouldn’t be a taboo subject, and anyone going through the menopause should feel supported at work by their employer, their manager and their colleagues.” She further said, “The conference in Birmingham was enlightening, inspirational and empowering for all who attended, and we are looking forward to keeping the conversation going and building on that momentum for the benefit of all our fire and rescue service colleagues.” Conference Offers a Great opportunity for networking The conference provided a fantastic opportunity for networking, and to hear from the amazing speakers" Kathryn Billing, the Chief Fire Officer at Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service and NFCC’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead said: “The conference provided a fantastic opportunity for networking, and to hear from the amazing speakers, who shared their experiences, passion, professionalism, learning and knowledge – and for that I’d like to a say a huge thank you.” She adds, “The event was also about looking at what the fire sector and the National Fire Chiefs Council need to do now, and in the future, to make sure we are supporting anyone who is going through or is impacted by the menopause.” Interactive session offers useful ideas and insights Kathryn Billing continues, “The interactive session gave us some really useful ideas and insights, and we know that in order to implement change we now need to build on the momentum, get allies on board and work together.” Feedback and learning from the conference will now be fed back into NFCC to agree next steps, with the aim of producing a national menopause toolkit for fire and rescue services.

The Academic Collaboration, Evaluation and Research Group (ACER) is an independent forum, convened by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), to help coordinate and maximize the benefits of academic research with relevance for fire and rescue services (FRS), to contribute to improved public and firefighter safety.  It is chaired by Rowena Hill from Nottingham Trent University and Vice Chaired by Justin Johnston from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (Lancashire FRS). ACER ACER will provide an ethical approach to research partnerships and potential research funding ACER has been established to create better national links between the fire and rescue services through the conduit of the NFCC and academia. In addition to this, ACER will provide an ethical approach to research partnerships and potential research funding. It aims to improve the gathering, reviewing and analysis of research findings and set them into context for the NFCC and/or FRS. Why has ACER been set up? It is recognized that to date, the approach to research within fire and rescue services has not had the benefit of national oversight and coordination. No dedicated resources have been available to support research and opportunities that may exist to attract research funding have not been maximized.  Many local relationships exist between services and academic institutes. Specific research has been commissioned and completed, which is of benefit if known about. However, what has been missing is the ability for services to see what useful research may already be available to them to prevent duplication, or for research requirements to be collated, reviewed and prioritized against national needs rather than just local, and potentially quite bespoke, ones. Exploratory work undertaken Proposals were discussed and a business case for the establishment of ACER was approved by the NFCC in 2022 Over the last year, exploratory work to consider how a better connection between the services and academia could be established has been undertaken. Discussions with various contacts in academia confirmed that there was an appetite from both sides to improve how they work together. Proposals were discussed and a business case for the establishment of ACER was approved by the NFCC in 2022, as it was unilaterally agreed that a more coordinated approach was needed.  Improvement priorities in the Fit for the Future strategy Over the next five years, it is the ambition of the Local Government Association, National Employers and the NFCC to deliver improvement priorities in the Fit for the Future strategy. The ACER Group has been set up to explore research findings aligned to NFCC and Fit for the Future priorities.  What will ACER do and how will it work? Where are we now? Following agreement that ACER should be established in the summer of 2022, work began to appoint an independent Chair from academia and to establish how the group should be formed. Academic representatives on the Group have been selected to represent the range of academic disciplines that have relevance to fire and rescue services. Draft Terms of Reference discussed The first ACER Group meeting was held on 8th November 2022, where the Group discussed Draft Terms of Reference, the proposed academic disciplines and ways of working for the Group.  More work is now required to establish how the Group will operate, which includes:  Identifying the existing research already being undertaken across FRS, so that there is no duplication in existing work and can identify potential future research opportunities. Considering how requests for research will be input to the Group. Considering published research that has relevance may be collated and made available more easily to FRS. Services should with their local academic partners At this very early stage, there is much to do to enable the ACER Group to function. There is no desire to prevent progress on research already underway and there will always be the need for services to work with their local academic partners. What is hoped is that in the future there will be a conduit for research and a place where published research can be more easily accessed. In addition, requests for research can be collated in a more structured way and the ACER Group can provide advice and steer on the best ways to approach research and potentially funding streams to support that.

The Fire Standards Board (FSB) is delighted to announce the launch of its Leadership and People Fire Standards: Leading the Service and Leading and Developing People.  Both Fire Standards have been developed to support services in strengthening professionalism and leadership at all levels of their organization, encouraging more positive working environments for the benefit of their people and the community they serve.  Leading the Service Fire Standard The Leading the Service Fire Standard was developed to clearly articulate the expectations on those who lead" The Leading the Service Fire Standard was developed to clearly articulate the expectations on those who lead within services, particularly their behaviors, ethics and the activities required to lead well in an ever change world.  The Leading and Developing People Fire Standard is focused on how services should attract and retain a competent workforce that is diverse, motivated, and engaged. The standard also puts an emphasis on workforce development, health and well-being. Both standards benchmarked against leadership standards The development of these standards was led by the NFCC Vice-Chair and Chief Fire Office, Justin Johnston, and NFCC Lead for Leadership, Chief Fire Officer, Wayne Bowcock. Many contributions were received from leaders at all levels from within UK fire and rescue services, as well as leadership experts and peers from outside the service.  Both standards have been benchmarked against recognized leadership standards but, as with all Fire Standards, have been put into a context suitable for fire and rescue services. In combination with other Fire Standards such as the Code of Ethics and Safeguarding, the Fire Standards Board (FSB) is aiming to ensure services are equipped to operate well in often challenging and changing environments. Gap Analysis Tools to support services with implementation The tools help services in both assessing how well they currently meet the standards As with all Fire Standards, there are corresponding Gap Analysis Tools to support services with implementation. The tools help services in both assessing how well they currently meet the standards, as well as considering any additional actions that may be required for them to achieve the standards. The Chair of the Fire Standards Board (FSB), Suzanne McCarthy said “The two Leadership and People Fire Standards are a significant step forward in helping services deliver the right behaviors and values across fire and rescue services. They build on our increasing suite of standards, which together support and enable services to drive continuous improvement.” Publication of the Leadership and People Fire Standards Suzanne McCarthy adds, “I want to thank all the individuals and services for their contributions towards the content of these standards. Like the others published, these have been developed by the service for the service, acknowledging and incorporating what good looks like.” Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Mark Hardingham said: “The NFCC welcomes the publication of the Leadership and People Fire Standards. They will become an important part of how services shape their leadership and workforces in the future, underpinned by much of the existing and future guidance, tools and leadership development programs developed and led by the NFCC. Thank you to all of those who were involved in the development of these pivotal standards.”