Improving the use of technology in neonatal care in the North West

Neonatal care would benefit from many available technologies to improve care and enable families to feel closer to their babies. A new report has identified a number of basic recommendations that need to happen to enable these technologies to be brought in.

The report, which has been a year in the making, was completed in partnership with Health Innovation North West Coast’s Patient Safety and Digital teams, the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (NWNODN) and Chiesi UK and Ireland, a research-focused biopharmaceuticals group, which has had neonatal care as an area of focus for over 30 years.

Findings
Initially, the project team thought the report would result in specific technology recommendations for improved neonatal care. However, it soon became apparent that there were a number of recurring challenges during a review of 22 participating units. The report then pivoted to what is needed for these technologies to be brought in.

A vital finding were basic infrastructure and operational barriers. The report has organised a comprehensive list of challenges and recommendations under these categories: information technology infrastructure and support; procurement of solutions; staff training and time; Trust/ICS/NHS-wide approaches to neonatal care; family and patient experience.

Some of the insights included a lack of Wi-Fi connectivity on the units, use of paper records still being common, and the presence of broken or inadequate hardware. However, it’s worth noting that there were a handful of examples where technologies were being used well with staff and family satisfaction, however these were exceptions, rather than the norm.

Mandy Townsend, Associate Director of Patient Safety, says: “We want to see a future where there is more equitable, efficient, safe and family-focused neonatal care. We know that there are technologies available now that could support this, however the result of this report shows that the system will have to support basic improvements in the units that care for our smallest and most vulnerable patients. This is a perfect example of an area where the NHS needs to move from analogue to digital.”

Kelly Harvey, Acting Director, NWNODN, said: “Neonatal services do not have  the basic IT infrastructure they need to enable them to innovate and introduce potentially game-changing technology. Teams are very keen and willing to innovate but the current state is holding them back. It is important this report is shared widely across both healthcare and digital sectors to articulate the challenges and drive forward improvements in IT capabilities to allow for future innovation for the benefit of babies and their families."  

Jen Gilroy-Cheetham, Head of NHS Engagement at Chiesi says: "Accelerating the availability and use of technology within the NHS is a significant opportunity to drive improvements in efficiency, quality, and patient and Healthcare professionals experience. We are proud to have worked alongside our partners within the NHS to identify where focussed action should be to ensure neonatal teams are being supported to offer high quality care to tiny babies in the North West and beyond." 

Who was involved
The team worked hard to ensure the voices of as many stakeholders as possible were represented in the findings, with face-to-face qualitative data prioritised. Stakeholders included clinicians, digital/IT professionals, administrators, management and families. The team also engaged with families through Spoons, a neonatal family support charity.

The neonatal units involved in the report spanned across South Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, and included seven neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), 12 local neonatal units (LNUs), two special care units (SCUs), as well as the neonatal transport service (Connect North West).

Report and resources
A short summary report highlights the challenges and possible solutions. A full report goes into greater detail on these points, on the units involved, research and data collection methodology and more. Two resource pages have also been created for health care professionals and families to further promote awareness of the report’s findings.

What’s next
Some of the report's findings have already been shared at annual conference for the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM).

The project team will be disseminating the report to neonatal team leads, IT leads and ICS leadership throughout the North West and into national networks to gain traction for change. They also hope to share these learnings with other specialised services, which will likely be experiencing similar issues.

Finally, Health Innovation North West Coast, NWNODN and Chiesi will also share the report with the professionals and families who participated. The project team is grateful for the time and attention that all participants gave to inform the report.

May 2025, UK-CHI-2500501