EMIS Group is set to join up community healthcare for 170,000 patients in East Surrey. It's one of five contracts the company has won under the London and Southern Framework replacing Servelec's RiO EPR.

Social enterprise First Community Health and Care has switched to EMIS Web, to deliver care across the local health economy. The organisation aims to reduce hospital admissions and provide more efficient, coordinated care. It delivers 27 different community services with 320 staff, including district nurses, health visitors, school nurses, allied health professionals and those at the local 28-bed community hospital, Caterham Dene.
Community providers who have already switched from Rio to EMIS Web in the south of England are North Somerset Community Partnership, Sirona Care and Health in South Gloucestershire and Bristol Community Health.

With EMIS Web, clinicians at First Community will:

  • be able to share data securely with local GPs using EMIS Web - and vice versa - giving them all vital medical information at the point of care
  • have a clinical system tailored for community care, with secure 'read and write' mobile access wherever they are working
  • have specialist training and deployment to ensure a smooth transition to the new system
  • be able to analyse activity and outcomes data across the organisation.

Will Lewis, Head of IM&T at First Community said:

"This is a really exciting opportunity for us to utilise EMIS' expertise as an experienced clinical systems provider. The system will become a central clinical tool in realising our vision of community services that are integrated, accessible, responsive and flexible.

"There has been an energetic change in attitude in the organisation away from an IT system that clinicians must use, to a system that clinicians want to use. Patient benefits are central to the project and this is reflected in the way that system management and change will be led by clinical teams. The interoperable nature of EMIS Web will enable a complete transformation in the way NHS services are provided across health care settings within East Surrey and into neighbouring areas."

Martin Bell, Director of Community, Children's and Mental Health at EMIS said: "We are delighted to bring another organisation into the growing network of users who have switched from Rio to EMIS Web. I believe First Community Health and Care will quickly realise the benefits of our sophisticated, user-friendly technology which enables them to integrate services and drive up clinical standards across patient populations."

About First Community Health and Care

First Community is part of the NHS family delivering community healthcare services in East Surrey and the surrounding area. We offer a friendly face with highly rated, well-run services, delivered by our skilled people. We provide high-quality nursing and therapy teams, children and family services as well as a ward, rapid assessment clinic and Minor Injuries Unit at Caterham Dene Hospital.

We are passionate about the communities where we work and we really do put community first. It's at the heart of what we do. As a social enterprise, our people share in ownership and decision-making, taking responsibility for delivering great care. We also work together to identify any savings we can make, creating additional funds that go straight back into the local community.

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