Making Every Contact Count

Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training gives you transferable skills to help you listen more, ask the right questions and ensure people feel empowered and heard.

It began as a national initiative in England, rooted in the NHS and public health systems. It was designed to embed brief, opportunistic interventions into routine interactions. It’s now expanded to cover so many more people facing roles – whether that’s a patient at a GP appointment, a resident in housing, or someone wanting to borrow a book in a library. 

The goal is simple: To empower people to make positive changes to their health and wellbeing through everyday conversations.

It's grounded in behaviour change science. It’s not about telling people what to do or adding to already busy workloads. Instead, it’s about listening, prompting reflection, and signposting to support – creating the conditions for change, not forcing it.

For those who receive MECC training, the principles are simple.

• Get transferable skills to help you listen more, ask the right questions and ensure people feel empowered and heard.

The benefits are significant.

• Earlier, informed interventions that make a real difference.
• Challenges seen and addressed before they become a problem.
• A feeling of connection – everyone is pulling in the same direction.
• A practical way to tackle health inequalities because conversations can happen anywhere and with anyone.
• Education and awareness – informed conversations help people take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

Oxfordshire’s Marmot Place programme is committed to tackling health inequalities and improving health equity. MECC is being delivered by local partners across the county – helping us meet the Marmot principles we are focusing on.

For more information about MECC training in your organisation or community group, please contact  MECC@oxfordshire.gov.uk

MECC Training 

MECC training is freely available in Oxfordshire and covers:

• What MECC is and who it is for
• An introduction to Behaviour Change and the COM-B and Stages of Change behaviour change models
• How to have a MECC conversation using a three-step approach
• Using open discovery questions to have supportive conversations about health
• What to consider when providing information or signposting an individual to a support service

Training Models Available

• MECC 3-hour Practice Session
• MECC Train the Trainer Course
• MECC E-Learning – Making Every Contact Count – e-learning for healthcare

Embedding MECC into your team's approach

We offer free, bespoke MECC training sessions where suited. These sessions are designed to support organisations across Oxfordshire in integrating Making Every Contact Count (MECC) into their everyday practice.

Find and access support

Helping people improve their health and wellbeing starts with simple, everyday healthy conversations. 

Whether you're a professional or volunteer engaging in a healthy conversation, having the right information around local support available at your fingertips can make a big difference. This information brings together a range of local and national support services and practical tips around leading a healthy lifestyle. 

• Support for general health and wellbeing
• Physical health
• Mental health
• Smoking
• Physical activity
• Alcohol and drugs
• Healthy eating
• Financial worries

Visit the MECC Link website for more support and information about the MECC approach across the Thames Valley. You can access suggested open questions and signposting for both national and Oxfordshire-based services, all broken down by a range of healthy lifestyle topics.