System C has signed a five-year contract with a Wiltshire-based consortium of GPs who are pioneering government plans to bring healthcare services closer to home. Called Wilcare Health Ltd, the consortium provides services in a community setting which are more traditionally associated with acute hospitals. The first speciality available to Wiltshire residents is Ear, Nose and Throat, with expansion into other specialties planned over the coming months.
Wilcare has chosen System C's Medway Sigma patient management software to manage the diversified service. The software will allow the independent healthcare provider to manage patient referrals from the national Choose and Book service, to support its patient call centre, and to run clinics located in a number of sites such as community hospitals and GP surgeries.
Jamie Brosch, part-time GP and medical director of Wilcare, explained that Wilcare was working in partnership with the local out of hours service and hospital-based consultants to provide localised care to 130,000 patients in North Wiltshire.
"Not only do we expect to make services more responsive to patient needs and to bring them closer to home, we also expect to deliver them at lower overall costs to healthcare commissioner," he said.
"We selected Medway Sigma because it delivers a proven, cost-effective, highly functional and configurable solution that is already compliant with the National Programme for IT."
For System C, the contract marks a significant step into the growing market of community-based care. The company is already a leading provider of IT solutions across the public and private sector and is an enthusiastic proponent of localised services offered in a primary care setting, as recommended by Professor Lord Darzi in his interim report on the future of the NHS.
"It is great to be working with a forward-thinking consortium of GPs who are at the forefront of delivering services in this emerging and exciting new area of healthcare," said System C director Gary Davies.
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About System C Healthcare plc
System C Healthcare plc (www.systemc.com), established in 1983, specialises in the provision of healthcare information systems, implementation services and consulting. System C's aim is to help to improve patient care and safety through the effective use of IT solutions and innovative consulting services.
System C is a specialist developer and supplier of patient management systems to the health service. The Group's Medway Sigma product range includes: advanced Patient Administration Systems and Electronic Patient Record systems for acute and mental health hospitals and out of hospital treatment centres; a reporting and management information system configured specifically to support the healthcare sector; clinical systems for order communications, A&E, theatres, maternity, diabetes care and other clinical specialities/conditions. Clients include some of the largest acute hospital trusts in the country, including Aintree University Hospitals and Tameside Hospital as well as specialist trusts such as the Christie, one of the UK's leading cancer hospitals.
System C also deploys its patient management and clinical systems at a number of the most prestigious private sector treatment centres in the country including Sussex Orthopaedic NHS Treatment Centre, Will Adams NHS Treatment Centre (Gillingham), St Mary's NHS Treatment Centre (Portsmouth), Midlands NHS Treatment Centre (Burton) and Eccleshill NHS Treatment Centre (Bradford) amongst others.
System C Healthcare was established in 1983 and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market.