Eric Williams House has won the Early Intervention and Prevention award at the Lang & Buisson Independent Specialist Care Awards for its use of Odyssey CareAssess

Avia (AIM: AVIA), the developer and provider of clinical decision support and referral facilitation software, via its wholly owned subsidiary, Plain Healthcare is proud to announce that Eric Williams House, a local government funded care home in Coventry, won the prestigious Early Intervention and Prevention award at the national Lang & Buisson Independent Specialist Care Awards on the 12th March, for its use of Odyssey CareAssess.

Plain Healthcare, has been working with Eric Williams House and the Godiva Clinical Commissioning Group on the development of Odyssey CareAssess since October 2011. Eric Williams House is a 43-bedded care home for the elderly mentally infirm which historically placed significant demands on the 999 ambulance service and the local emergency department, as well as the out of hours service. Odyssey CareAssess was introduced to support resident centred assessments of health care needs. The Odyssey CareAssess software, specifically designed for care home residents and carers, uses intuitive touchscreen technology, enabling individual problems to be identified, assessed and managed at the earliest stage. Carers and residents are supported in history taking and appropriate outcome generation.

The change in process that Odyssey CareAssess enabled has increased staff confidence, knowledge and ensured quality. Many more problems are now identified earlier. When intervention is needed, it is clear as to what and who this might be and the timeframe.  Residents are more frequently effectively managed in-house with the right advice and follow up support, and when outside intervention is required, a robust history can be sent in advance to aid informed decision making by health professionals as to the urgency of next steps. This has enabled early and appropriate intervention regarding, for example, suspected infections - maintaining optimum levels of health for residents.

Staff at Eric Williams House quickly embraced the change and the tablet has become a crucial part of the carer toolkit, portable and easy to use with an average of eight uses per day rising to 20 on occasions.

Key Outcomes

• 42% reduction in Emergency Department attendance maintained over a 12 month period (verified statistics)

• GP attendance reduced by 75% (unverified)

• Staff, residents and families confident of highest quality care

• Educational structure develops carer knowledge and skills with every use

• Robust records reflecting best practice and current clinical evidence are maintained

The Independent Specialist Care Awards draws attention to the best performing private and voluntary sector providers working in the provision of social care services for adults with learning or physical disabilities or mental health conditions whether that be in residential care, homecare or specialist hospitals.

Professor Jeremy Dale, Chief Executive of Avia Health Informatics Plc, commented:

"We are delighted for Eric Williams House. Their use of Odyssey CareAssess has helped us to develop a robust assessment tool that enables early intervention and appropriate care of the most vulnerable people. To receive an award like this further justifies our commitment to providing high quality clinical decision support that benefits patients, healthcare professionals and service providers alike."

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