Medway Maternity was also successfully implemented at Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust and in Ayrshire & Arran this summer.

System C has attributed the surge in activity in the maternity systems market to a number of key Department of Health initiatives. These are thought to be driving trusts to invest in improving their maternity information, audit and reporting systems. A handful of other tenders for maternity systems are currently in their final stages.

Jane Clark, System C's services delivery director, said the company was delighted at the interest shown in Medway Maternity. "We are also very excited that Department of Health initiatives to help hard-pressed maternity services - specifically by improving the quality of clinical and management information available to them - are so close to fruition."

Foremost among these is a joint Department of Health and Information Centre project to define a national data set specifically for maternity care. This data set, expected to be completed early next year, will require hospitals to collect specific information in a standard way about the care women receive during their pregnancy and birth.

This has prompted maternity units to look around for systems, like System C's, which will allow them to comply with the emerging standards.

A separate Department of Health initiative, which allows NHS Trusts with sophisticated maternity information and risk analysis systems in place to pay reduced premiums into the Clinical Trust Negligence Scheme, is also thought to be driving the market.

System C's Medway Maternity provides a structured, permanent patient record that can either be implemented as a stand-alone product or as part of the integrated Medway Sigma EPR.

In addition to the National Maternity Data Set and the Clinical Trust Negligence Scheme, System C's maternity product allows Trusts to collect information to support:

• clinical dashboards and key performance indicators
• payment by results
• Maternity matters and the agenda for choice
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Royal College of Midwives statistics
• Midwifery Practice Audit reports.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is using System C's software throughout its maternity services - it employs 125 midwives, 110 neonatal nurses and 50 doctors to oversee some 5,000 births a year from its new purpose built hospital in central London.

At Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust, a combination of static and portable devices are being used by midwives, doctors and community midwives, working in clinics, surgeries and off-line in women's homes. Functionality includes integrated fetal monitoring. The system was implemented in just 8 months.

Having implemented Medway Maternity at the Ayrshire Maternity Unit this summer, Ayrshire & Arran is now embarking on the second phase. This involves implementing the software in its community-based maternity services, covering the whole of Ayrshire and the islands of Arran and Cumbrae. It also includes extending use to the neonatal unit and integrating CTG monitoring and archiving, PACS and results reporting.

The Mid Cheshire maternity information system is due to go live early next year. It will manage maternity services within the Trust and in the community, and be integrated with other computerised systems, such as the patient administration, obstetric ultrasound, and pathology systems.

"We are very pleased to be working closely with Mid Cheshire's maternity services directorate," Ms Clark said. "They are very focused on making use of leading-edge technology to meet the challenges of delivering improved outcomes and high quality maternity care."

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides acute, maternity, and child health services to a population of 280,000 from Leighton Hospital in Crewe, and the Victoria Infirmary in Northwich, along with a number of outreach facilities including community midwifery and child health services.

System C will be attending E-Health Insider Live next week on 9th and 10th November in Birmingham where they will be demonstrating Medway Maternity.

Related news articles:

• System C Healthcare's Profile

About System C Healthcare plc
System C Healthcare plc (www.systemc.com), specialises in the provision of health and social care information systems, systems implementation and consulting services.

System C Healthcare is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (SYS.L).