Virtual tours of neonatal units across four hospital sites run by University Hospitals Sussex are now available for parents and families to view the wards from home.
Sam Walters, Neonatal Senior Sister on the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at Royal Sussex County Hospital said: “It can be a really anxious time for parents whose babies may need specialist care on our neonatal unit, however with these tours now available for people, we hope being able to visualise the unit prior to visiting in person, provides some reassurance to families and reduces uncertainty.”
The virtual tour shows the layout of the ward, shows medical equipment where users can click to find out more information about these and learn about familiar places they will be accessing frequently.
New mum Sarah and baby Ellie are currently in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit, Sarah said: “The 3D maps are great for helping you navigate. They provide realistic images of the units, making the neonatal unit feel familiar when you get there and reduces any anxieties of finding your way around.”
“Ellie needed to visit a neonatal ward in London, which I was a bit nervous about as I hadn’t been there before, so I used the same tool to see what the layout was like which really helped prepare me.”
University Hosptial Sussex has neonatal services at St Richard’s in Chichester, Worthing and Princess Royal hospital in Haywards Heath that provide on-site special care baby units (SCBUs). These provide extra medical and nursing care to newborn babies who need short term high dependency care or special care.
At the Royal Sussex County Hosptial in Brighton, there is the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) which is a level three neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which has twenty-seven cots over three nurseries for special care, high dependency, and intensive care. The unit also cares for babies who need surgery.
The TMBU sees referrals from across Sussex, Surrey and Kent, making it the only specialist neonatal unit to provide level three care for babies on this part of the south coast.
You can watch the tours at the different hospital’s sites on the Trust website here: https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/services/maternity/neonatology/