New parents could soon benefit from personalised videos in UK hospitals
A new funding initiative is aiming to provide all neonatal care facilities in the UK with the ability to produce personalised videos for parents in the near future.
Video company vCreate have announced that they’re now looking for corporate sponsors to fund the provision of secure video within the units.
A recent survey by charity Bliss suggested that over 90,000 babies in the country rely on special care and the new funding approach aims to make the technology accessible to the wider neonatal community.
Ben Moore, founder of vCreate, believes that taking a more innovative approach to funding will make all the difference: “It’s clear from our discussions with medics that digital technology such as this has huge potential to transform the way services are delivered across the NHS.
“Delays or lack of central funding can leave the people who deliver the care hamstrung - there’s a proven case for a solution, a need for change, but budget for such initiatives isn’t readily available.”
The Royal Glasgow Hospital for Children has become the first in the UK to trial vCreate’s facilities in their neonatal unit in what's being described as a "successful trial programme".
Ben added: “We’ve already seen how secure video is enhancing patient care at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, and there’s been widespread media and public interest in the project.”
Neil Patel, Consultant Neonatologist, reckons the video facilities are a useful resource for parents during what can be a difficult time for them. He said: “The idea originally came from a parent of one of our patients.
“He uses personalised video in his work to connect with clients and asked if we could send him video updates of his own baby.
“We then asked more families who all told us there is nothing more reassuring than actually seeing their baby.
“It’s a personalised video platform that makes it quick and simple to create a video which can then be securely accessed by the baby’s parents on any device at any time.”
vCreate believes that the funding proposition delivers for both the public and private sectors. A statement from the company said: “The public sector gains innovative video technology when they need it, and private sector sponsors have the opportunity to support families of premature babies.
“As part of the sponsorship package, corporate sponsors can expect to see their company logo across the vCreate application which would be seen by the parents logging in to watch the videos - plus media coverage across multiple channels, and positive brand and CSR association."