A US company specialising in supplying computer software to the health industry has opened an office on the Falls Road in Belfast.

The offices will serve as the headquarters of the European division of Electronic Healthcare Systems, and is expected to employ 20 people within the next two years.

Company president Mr Tim Dougherty's said there had been an encouraging response from Northern Ireland hospitals.

He said he was confident annual sales would exceed £3.5 million sterling within three years.

Mr Dougherty said the software packages, which cost £150,000 £200,000, could save 20 per cent of a hospital's material management costs.