The Children’s Health Queensland Retrieval Service and aeromedical engineers from HeliMods have partnered to create a world-first retrieval cot for transporting babies in need of urgent or life-saving specialist care.
The two neonatal retrieval units (or ‘NeoRUs’) have been custom-designed to accommodate the specialist medical equipment required during medical retrievals of critically ill infants.
The one-size-fits-all units are the first of their kind to be compatible with all current Queensland retrieval assets including road ambulances, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
Fitted with an incubator that is transparent on all sides, these units offer improved visibility and ensures parents and carers can see the baby throughout the entire retrieval journey.
The units are also customisable and equipped with adaptable spaces that can accommodate future advancements in medical and retrieval technologies.
The NeoRUs ensure babies receive the safest and best possible care enroute to the Queensland Children’s Hospital or other major hospital for specialist treatment for a range of conditions such as sepsis, cardiac issues or complex respiratory illnesses.
The retrieval units will be used to transport the more than 150 vulnerable babies and their families from across Queensland who need a medical retrieval every year.
Children’s Health Queensland Chief Executive Frank Tracey said the NeoRUs improved the experience of care for both patients and retrieval staff, ensuring convenient and efficient access to equipment, and the seamless and consistent delivery of care enroute to hospital, regardless of the mode of transport.
“Innovation is key to ongoing service improvement and delivering the best possible person-centred care for children, young people and their families at every stage of their healthcare journey. In emergency cases, the commencement of life-saving care as soon as possible can be critical to achieving optimal outcomes,” Mr Tracey said.
“The NeoRUs are the latest example of Children’s Health Queensland staff embracing innovation and ‘dreaming big’ to transform the care we provide and make a meaningful and lasting impact for Queensland children and their families.”
Will Shrapnel, Managing Director and Founder of HeliMods said the Sunshine Coast-based company was incredibly proud to partner with CHQ’s Retrieval Service to deliver such an important capability for Queensland.
“Our team has worked hard on this collaboration to develop new technologies right here in Queensland that will set a new standard for conducting lifesaving neonatal retrievals in air ambulances as well as improving the working environment for retrieval crews," Mr Shrapnel said.
“The design of the units has been future-proofed, ensuring they can adapt to new medical and retrieval technologies as they become available.”
The innovative NeoRUs are leading the way in retrieval care nationally and internationally, and in future could be used for neonatal retrievals across Australia and overseas.
CHQ’s Retrieval Service team worked in collaboration with Traditional Owner Elder and proud Yuggera person, Gavin Tyson, to name the NeoRUs ‘Bundang Mari’ and ‘Nyam’il Mari’, meaning Mother Kangaroo and Baby Kangaroo in Yuggera language.