A new cutting-edge camera system is helping to give parents and carers of preterm and critically ill babies in Liverpool Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) the opportunity to view their baby in real-time while away from the hospital.
Liverpool Hospital is the first public site in NSW to go live with the AngelEye camera system as part of the $930 million Liverpool Health and Academic Precinct redevelopment.
Parents can access a live feed of their baby 24 hours a day, with the NICU care team providing updates via text messages and photos.
“We encourage parents to visit their babies as much as possible but believe the AngelEye system will provide comfort and reassurance during those times when they are cannot be with their babies due to work or family commitments,” said Liverpool Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Director, Dr Nele Legge.
“The cameras provide secure, one-way messaging and live streams of the baby which helps to encourage bonding, reduces stress for the parents, supports family-centred care and helps to integrate parents into the care team.”
The cameras have been installed on 24 cots in the unit. The technology provides staff with the tools to send secure, one-way communication to parents in more than 100 languages.
“This new technology at Liverpool Hospital will give Western Sydney families greater peace of mind, helping them stay connected to their little ones when they can’t be by their bedside,” said NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney, Prue Car.
“The feedback we’re receiving from parents has been overwhelmingly positive, and highlights the incredible work our NICU clinicians are doing every day to support families during some of the most challenging experiences of their lives,” said Health Minister, Ryan Park.
Liverpool Hospital General Manager, Scott McGrath thanked the teams involved in the implementation of the AngelEye project.
“We are excited to be the first public hospital in NSW to adopt the AngelEye camera system,” he said.
“Innovation is embedded in our care and is vital to transforming the healthcare and experiences of babies and their families in our new state-of-the-art NICU.’’
A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patient’s mother, Alexandra McCormack said the new camera system had been a positive experience.
“It has given us peace of mind when we cannot be with Rocky, because we can see him at any time via our devices,” she said.
The new and expanded NICU opened in 2024 in the hospital’s new contemporary Integrated Services Building, the centrepiece of the first stage of the Liverpool Health and Academic Precinct redevelopment.
The NICU includes 10 single rooms, four negative pressure rooms to isolate immuno-compromised babies and more space for parental involvement and kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact).
Construction is now underway for the second stage that will include six new parent rooms for the NICU and a new multi-storey Integrated Services Building, with enhanced and integrated cancer services, new inpatient units, and women’s and children’s ambulatory care.
