Virtual Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Motherhood Hospitals To Bridge The Gap Between Rural & Urban India

Motherhood Hospitals, which operates 21 hospitals in ten cities, has implemented a novel remote patient monitoring technology and system to provide virtual life-saving neonatal care to newborns admitted to nursing homes and hospitals in semi-urban and rural areas that lack proper Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). Neonatal care, which provides newborns with life-saving clinical care, is regarded as one of the most clinically demanding services in healthcare, and Motherhood Hospitals NICU is no exception.

Live solution is assisting in the transformation of this service to newborns in rural areas by utilising neonatal telehealth technologies supported by a team of highly experienced neonatologists and nurses across multiple locations, thereby creating a network of virtual neonatal intensive care units. Critically ill newborn babies are monitored remotely using cutting-edge technology. NICU Live treats high-risk newborns admitted to distant NICUs using cutting-edge remote monitoring technology and a specialised digital solution.

In the first phase of this groundbreaking initiative, Motherhood Hospitals established a central care centre or hub that is linked to five remote NICUs in Anantapur, Hindupur, Madanapalle, Patna, and Hisar. The hub-and-spoke model is based on full-time patient management and round-the-clock medical support. The central care team (hub) provides 24/7 monitoring and treatment support to the remote NICU (spoke) centres via high-resolution PTZ cameras with live video feed, a digital platform that ensures all critical information is shared digitally, and a constant communication link between the teams, resulting in significantly improved medical outcomes for these newborns. Furthermore, the experienced team of neonatologists and NICU nurses provide regular upskilling and training on NICU treatment modalities to the spoke centre care team. "Motherhood has been at the forefront of cutting-edge neonatal solution," said Vijayarathna Venkatraman, CEO of Motherhood Hospitals.

We have 300 NICU beds across our network, graduating over 800 newborns each month. NICU Live is helping us to fulfil our mission of bringing NICU care to the most remote parts of the country. With several new-borns in rural and semi-urban areas in need of immediate NICU care, this programme aims to close the gap and make NICU care available to all. The technology is brilliant, and what we've accomplished with it is a watershed moment in our journey to provide exceptional clinical care to newborns." According to Dr. Prathap Chandra, neonatologist and paediatrician at Motherhood Hospitals, NICU Live reduces the cost of a physical NICU while maintaining quality of care and bridging the availability gap of specialists.

Other disadvantages in remote NICUs include a lack of full-time availability of quality clinicians, a lack of advanced nursing expertise, and poor record management, all of which are addressed by the remote-monitoring system. Families in remote areas can look forward to immediate access to advanced NICU care and lower medical costs. “Motherhood’s NICU Live remote neonatal care is built on the backbone of India’s 3.5mn km of optical fibre cable network on which data, images and voice can travel seamlessly between the Care hub and the remote spoke to help save the lives of precious newborns. NICU Live virtual neonatology care network can potentially reach 1,000 beds across the country over the next 5 years and be a testament to the National Digital Health Mission ” said Vishal Bali, executive chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings.