Paediatric units implement secure video service to keep parents connected with their children

     

In the UK and Republic of Ireland, the paediatric health services support millions of children and their families, with more than 800,000 children under 15 years-old admitted to hospital annually and 20,000 children admitted to Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) each year.

Recognising the challenges parents face when trying to visit their child in hospital, the Freeman Hospital implemented vCreate across their Children’s Heart Unit, which includes a PICU, a High Dependency Unit and a Children’s Ward.

The secure video service allows paediatric professionals to record and upload short video-clips and photos of children on approved devices which are then shared directly with parents.

Rebecca Jack, Staff Nurse at Freeman’s Heart PICU said: “vCreate has completely changed the way we do things on the unit. While we continue to ring parents with updates on their child’s condition, the videos and photos we’ve been sharing provide parents with a physical glimpse into the ward and their child’s wellbeing.”

“It takes seconds to send a picture and, when we receive positive comments back from families, it’s so uplifting and motivating to know the difference they have made.”

The impact of the service on the paediatric units’ teams, families and patients has been transformative, quickly becoming an essential service within the hospital. Instead of families missing out on key moments or special milestones, the secure service allows nurses to record and save a visual diary of a child’s paediatric journey that parents can download and keep forever.

Rebecca Jack said: “One of the greatest benefits of the service is being able to capture, save and share a child’s progress on the unit with their family no matter the distance or circumstance.”

“We have one family who live hundreds of miles from the hospital, whose little boy is awaiting a heart transplant. Once, when his mother left hospital for a week, the patient could barely lift his head up and, by the following week, he was actively interacting and playing. It was a joy to capture this progress and share it with the family so they could experience it together.”

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