First look at new state-of-the-art Neonatal ICU at Liverpool’s Alder Hey hospital

A first look at the new state-of-the-art surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Alder Hey has been revealed.

The world renowned children’s hospital has released a video showing the layout of the new unit that will be the first of its kind in the country to provide Fi Care (Family Integrated Care) and will provide a safer service for babies.

With 18 integrated family rooms and 22 specialist neonatal cots, the unit will feature groundbreaking new technology including Telehealth Medicine Robots enabling clinicians to monitor babies remotely.

Under the Liverpool Neonatal Partnership, specialist staff from both Alder Hey and the Liverpool Women’s are working together to change and improve how neonatal services are delivered to families across the North West and provide the highest level of care for the most vulnerable babies in the region. This includes reducing the number of transfers between hospitals by 50%

The partnership will also look to enhance the care of babies and families on the new unit. This includes a neonatal tracking system; a wearable device worn around a parent’s wrist which sends out a signal allowing staff to know where the parent is in case of an emergency.

Jen Deeney, head of nursing for the Liverpool Neonatal Partnership said: “Keeping babies and their families together is so important for the early stages of a child’s development. Creating a specialist NICU on the Alder Hey site with family integrated care will ensure that new babies needing surgery can remain in one place with their parents or family members.

“The new unit will also mean that our most vulnerable babies aren’t coming back and forth between hospitals for treatment. We were really keen to design a unit that would have parents/caregivers right at the heart of their new baby’s care; allowing them to work alongside our teams and continue to look after their baby while also giving new parents confidence to be independent caregivers.

“This will be the first time in the UK Fi Care has been integrated into the design of a Neonatal Unit and our team are very excited.”

Last year Alder Hey Children’s Charity launched a fundraising Appeal to raise £3m for ‘over and above’ enhancements to the new Unit. More information about the Appeal and to donate can be found at www.alderheycharity.org/surgical-neonatal-appeal