Turning Behavioural Data into Meaningful Care Decisions — Royal Hospital of Neurodisability
Turning Behavioural Data into Meaningful Care Decisions — Royal Hospital of Neurodisability
The neuro-behavioural team at the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability has fully integrated Melo into their practice, with over 2000 digital assessments completed and transforming the way they deliver patient care.
The Challenge
Understanding and evidencing complex behaviours in neuro-rehabilitation settings is notoriously difficult. On Wellesley Ward at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, clinicians must regularly justify the need for 1:1 support, by providing evidence to the Integrated Care Board (ICB). These decisions can mean the difference between continued funding or essential care being withdrawn. Without clear, robust evidence, there’s a real risk that patients could lose the support that keeps them safe, drives their rehabilitation, and protects their quality of life.
Since early 2025, the neuro-behavioural team at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability has been using Melo to make better sense of behavioural complexity. With Melo, clinicians now capture interventions and behaviours in a structured way, turning day-to-day observations into clear, data-driven insights. This not only supports confident decision-making on the ward but also gives teams the evidence they need to communicate effectively with external partners like the Integrated Care Board. In practice, it means less time spent chasing notes and more time focused on patient care.
The Solution
The Impact
📉 Earlier Decision Making
Melo has empowered the team to make earlier, more informed decisions in managing behaviours that challenge (BtC), enabling swift implementation of interventions and achieving early wins in patient care. By providing real-time access to data, staff are no longer reliant solely on processed psychology reports, supporting quicker clinical decisions at the point of care.
📊 Real-Time Data, Shared Across Teams
Opening up data access across the team has strengthened a trans-disciplinary approach, ensuring that insights are shared rather than siloed. With direct input from nurses and carers, staff feel valued as their observations are immediately reflected in the data, promoting engagement and ownership of care strategies.
🗣️ Language Sharing
Melo also encourages a shared language around BtC, while capturing interventions and strategies more comprehensively, leading to improved quality of data. These capabilities support the team’s commitment to reducing restrictive practice, ensuring safer, more patient-centred care.
✅Funding Justification for Continued Care
For the first time, ward managers used Melo’s behavioural charts and outputs to support a funding justification for 1:1 care. The data helped highlight the complexity of behaviours in a clear and compelling way, offering evidence that is often difficult to convey through traditional means. Feedback from the team was highly positive, with clinicians noting that Melo enabled a more accurate, defensible representation of patients’ needs, increasing confidence in discussions with the ICB.
- Ward Manager
“Melo highlights the complexity of our patients on Wellesley Ward- something that’s often very difficult to do with other means.”
Results at a glance
✅ 2,000+ assessments completed digitally
⏳ 78% reported entries were much faster with Melo
📊 78% said Melo produced better quality data
➡️ 89% found Melo easier to use than their EPR
🔍 Faster identification of behavioural patterns and clinical decision making
🎯 Comprehensive capturing of strategies and interventions
👩⚕️ Direct input from nursing and care staff
📈 Enhanced validity & completeness of data
👥 All unit staff now have access to real-time data
💬 Positive feedback from the ICB
Patient Case Study
🏥From crisis management, to meaningful recovery
A new patient presenting with severe challenging behaviours was admitted to the service. Their behaviours had significant consequences on other patients, staff members, and the environment. Per week, 83 episodes of challenging behaviours were recorded, including physical aggression, property damage and escape attempts. 7 days into their admission, the patients’ behaviour began to escalate. They presented as confused and disorientated, with severe communication impairment and cognitive challenges.
Digital ABC (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence) assessments were completed daily using Melo.
The team needed to administer key interventions to re-orientate the patient non-verbally, without escalating their behaviour. With no clear intervention windows, the team used Melo to identify time-frames where the patient was settled.
This approach enabled the team to intervene effectively, contributing to a measurable reduction in both the severity and frequency of the patients behaviour within days.
The patient was then also able to to take part in positive ward activities like playing table tennis.
Dr. Natali Farran - Clinical Psychologist
“I shared the Melo dashboard with a patients family. They started looking at different days and thinking about strategies that can be put in place as well as visiting days/times. They said that they loved the graphs, and that seeing the progress makes them feel hopeful despite all challenges.”
Dr. Alexandra Rose - Consultant Clinical Psychologist
“Melo is such an important, useful and exciting development in the world of managing behaviour that challenges. Melo is a straightforward and clear app to track behaviour that challenges after brain injury. This will help us improve the data collection and how we utilise the data on our wards.”
-
“It helps you put as much information in, in a short time. Reduces the chances of missing things.”
Occupational Therapist
-
"Simple, straightforward, convenient, effective. Everything on Melo is easier!"
Health Care Assistant
🎥 In Their Own Words
Hear how Melo has transformed the management of behavioural care at Goodman House, with reflections from Dr Natali Farran.
Melo™ is helping clinicians across the UK reduce admin, unlock insight, and improve care.
Get in touch with us to discuss implementing Melo™ in your organisation.
