Milton Keynes University Hospital has today (22 October) launched a brand-new 3D tour of the hospital’s Neonatal Unit, helping to alleviate the anxiety of parents when visiting their newborn baby.
The tour, which enables parents, families and friends to virtually experience the unit, has been developed with support from the Thames Valley & Wessex Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (ODN) as part of a wider project to improve accessibility and equity across the region.
The interactive tool provides parents with the chance to virtually walk around the unit to understand what to expect if their baby needs to be admitted. It explains how the unit will look, feel and sound, as well as providing further information on equipment and facilities – with links to other resources such as videos and websites.
The new 3D tour has been developed over the last 12 months, with feedback from both current and previous service users to ensure the resource was based on what families would want and expect to receive about a Neonatal Unit.
Diane Gray, Senior Sister and Family Integrated Care Lead at MKUH, said: “We recognise that having a baby is an emotional time and even more so if your baby requires neonatal care. Many families have never even heard of the Neonatal Unit so this will help increase awareness. Other feedback from families has highlighted the importance of providing a tool that can help reduce anxieties by reinforcing information given by staff and enable them to share the video with other children and family members so they can appreciate where they are.
“Our hope is that the tour and supporting resources provide reassurance to families, support them to be fully involved in their baby’s care and improves neonatal family experience.”
Features of the new 3D tour include:
Navigating to the Neonatal Unit from the main entrance of the hospital, including references to other areas of maternity services on the route
Moving around the neonatal unit
Details on equipment used within the unity
Information about parent facilities and links to other resources
Useful tips about general hospital facilities, such as places to eat and drink, car parking and toilets
Feedback from service users will continue to be sought over the coming months, with the unit committed to ensuring this remains an accurate and useful platform for patients and families now and into the future.
Alongside the tour, a video has been developed in collaboration with service users. The video highlights some useful information and tips on what to expect during your time at the Neonatal Unit and was developed thanks to the support from Milton Keynes Hospital Charity.
To view the tour, as well as the supporting video, visit our website here: https://www.mkuh.nhs.uk/neonatal-unit
To find out more about MK Hospital Charity, visit their website: https://www.mkhcharity.org.uk/
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