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Knowledge Hub.

System C and the Board of The Learning Clinic Limited are pleased to announce the acquisition of The Learning Clinic, the market-leading provider of real-time mobile clinical systems for doctors and nurses, by System C Healthcare Limited.

Founded in 2005 by Roger Killen, previously co-founder and managing director of Dr Foster, The Learning Clinic has led the way in the development and deployment of real-time clinical systems for healthcare improvement. The Learning Clinic’s VitalPAC range of products enable clinicians to capture, assess and act on clinical data at the patient, ward and hospital level. Its systems are in use hospital-wide in over 50 hospitals across England and the company recently celebrated capturing 100 million patient observations.

The benefits of the VitalPAC solution are well documented in peer-reviewed journals such as the BMJ journals and the Nursing Times. Hospitals report reductions in mortality rates (10%), cardiac arrest rates (50%), unplanned ITU admissions (10%), length of stay (10%) and hospital acquired infections (90%). Other major developments include real-time alignment of nurse resource allocation with clinical need, and savings in doctors’ time.

The Learning Clinic has also developed advanced bed management and whiteboard software in its new VitalFLO product. This is designed to transform the flow of patients through a hospital, significantly reducing length of stay. VitalFLO is currently in late beta deployment and will be launched formally at EHI Live on November 3rd/4th.

The acquisition by System C will bring additional capability to VitalPAC and VitalFLO customers. A priority will be to integrate additional clinical functionality into the VitalPAC nursing and doctor products. This will include workflow, results, ordering, vital signs and assessments, as well as access to care community shared records. 

System C will also be tightly integrating the VitalFLO and VitalPAC solutions into its Medway PAS and electronic patient record software in order to help reduce length of stay and to give its clients access to the new and extended clinical mobile applications. 

Stephen Murphy, chairman of The Learning Clinic, said: “Combining with System C is a key step in The Learning Clinic’s development. System C is a great cultural fit for us and has the ambition, scale and range of products we need to drive mobile clinical support forward to the place that clinicians need. The Board believes that the combination of the two businesses provides the best strategic future for the company, its customers and its employees.”

System C joint CEO Ian Denley commented: “The NHS is under enormous pressure to make changes in care provision which improve quality and increase efficiency. The combined System C and The Learning Clinic product sets allow us to accelerate our support in both areas. The Learning Clinic is a clear market and thought leader in clinical solutions, its products are held in high regard by users, and we are delighted they have joined the System C group.

“We are looking forward to working with The Learning Clinic operational team to take the company forward.”

System C CEOs Ian Denley and Markus Bolton will be joining the The Learning Clinic board as joint CEOs, with Kal Vaikla stepping down. Roger Killen will be re-joining the senior executive team in a product design and strategic role. 

The Learning Clinic will operate as a subsidiary of System C, sitting alongside the company’s social care subsidiary, Liquidlogic. The combined business employ around 500 people.

The acquisition is an important component of System C’s product strategy for health and social care. The company’s offerings include:

  • The Medway patient administration system (PAS) which manages patient flows in acute hospitals
  • Medway departmental systems, including A&E, Maternity, Theatres and Business Intelligence
  • The Medway EPR, which provides core clinical functionality such as results, orders, clinical noting and prescribing
  • The VitalPAC real-time mobile clinical systems for doctors and nurses
  • The VitalFLO bed management and patient flow solution
  • The CarePLUS child health system
  • The Liquidlogic adult and children’s social care management systems
  • Medway CareCentric, which provides shared care records and integrates care pathways across care communities
  • Various clinical and patient portals