November deadline for trusts to install CCTV in neonatal units

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By Daniel Pye

CCTV cameras must be installed in neonatal units by the end of November, senior NHS England managers have told trusts.

It follows the recommendation made by the Thirlwall Inquiry.

The letter also stated NHS England (NHSE) is urgently working on developing plans for all cots and incubators to be fitted with monitors so parents can observe their baby remotely at any time.

By 30 November, trusts must install CCTV cameras in neonatal units focused on storage fridges, cupboards or units until there are biometric data controls in place for accessing insulin stores.

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England and Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHSE chief operating officer said the report, which investigated failures at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the Lucy Letby case, was a “sobering moment for all of us”.

The need for change “goes beyond the walls of a single hospital ward,” Burton and Marsh wrote.

Lady Justice Thirlwall’s report recommended installing CCTV in units as well as cameras in cots.