Virtual tour gives families a 3D view of King’s neonatal unit

King’s College Hospital has launched an interactive 3D virtual tour of its NICU, enabling families to explore the unit remotely, learn about medical equipment and locate family facilities before visiting in person. The hospital is one of the first NHS trusts in London to introduce the technology.

The technology allows parents to virtually walk through the neonatal unit at their own pace, giving them a sense of its scale and layout. Users can navigate between rooms and look up, down and around using a full 360-degree view.

Clinical and family areas are identified, including the parents’ kitchen and mothers’ expressing room, while equipment such as incubators, monitors and expressing pumps is labelled with helpful information. The tour can be accessed using any internet-connected device, making it particularly useful for parents who are unable to visit the unit in person because of travel constraints or health concerns.

Dr Ravindra Bhat, Clinical Lead Neonatal Services at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We appreciate that it can be a very worrying time for parents whose babies may need specialist care on our unit. We hope that being able to visualise the unit prior to visiting in person can provide some reassurance. We want to do as much as we can to make the experience of being in an NICU less stressful and helping families to feel more in control of their experience.”

The project was facilitated in partnership with the London Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (ODN) and funded by Ickle Pickles Children’s Charity. Plans are in place to expand the technology to neonatal services across the trust, with production of a virtual tour of the neonatal unit at Princess Royal University Hospital due to take place later this year.

Rachael Marsh, Co-Founder of Ickle Pickles, said: “Virtual tours enable families to see the environment where their infant will be cared for. This may be useful in the weeks leading up to birth, after delivery, or as part of a transfer from another hospital. In all these circumstances it is hoped that being able to look at the environment will reduce any anxiety associated with entering somewhere unfamiliar.”

No patients, parents or staff are identified in the tour. Parents and carers are advised to make sure they are in a safe space and feel emotionally ready before accessing it, as seeing or revisiting a neonatal unit can bring back difficult memories.