Making Clinical Environments More Familiar

““Being able to see the unit beforehand made a real difference for us. It helped take away some of the fear of the unknown and meant we felt more prepared and informed when the time came.

It also helped us explain the environment to other family members, which was really reassuring.”

— Parent

Supporting Parents Through the Neonatal Journey

For parents, a neonatal unit can feel overwhelming — unfamiliar machines, clinical environments and uncertainty at an already emotional time.

We use 3D scanning and immersive virtual technology to help parents become familiar with neonatal units before their baby is admitted, reducing anxiety and helping families feel more prepared and supported.

Helping Parents Know What to Expect

Using accurate 3D digital capture, we create realistic virtual walkthroughs of neonatal units that allow parents to explore the space in advance — from incubators and monitoring equipment to ward layouts and care areas.

This gives parents the opportunity to:

  • See the environment ahead of time

  • Understand where their baby will be cared for

  • Become familiar with medical equipment and surroundings

  • Ask informed questions before admission

By removing the fear of the unknown, we help parents feel calmer and more confident.

Supporting the Patient Journey

Designed With Care, Privacy and Sensitivity

All scanning is carried out sensitively and securely, ensuring patient privacy and clinical safety at every stage.

The resulting digital environments are:

  • Non-intrusive

  • Secure and access-controlled

  • Easy to view on phones, tablets or computers

  • Designed to support reassurance, not overwhelm

Improving the Patient and Family Experience

By using digital technology to support the patient journey, healthcare providers can:

  • Reduce anxiety for parents and families

  • Improve understanding and engagement

  • Support clearer communication

  • Enhance the overall care experience

It’s not about technology for its own sake — it’s about using digital tools to support people at one of the most important moments of their lives.

A Gentler Introduction to Clinical Environments

Clinical environments are often highly specialised and unfamiliar, which can feel daunting for patients and families — particularly when emotions are already heightened.

Virtual access allows individuals and families to:

  • Explore the environment at their own pace

  • Revisit spaces as often as needed

  • Share the experience with partners or family members

  • Feel more prepared and informed ahead of appointments or admissions

“By removing some of the unknowns, this approach supports emotional wellbeing and encourages clearer, more confident communication between patients, families and care teams."

Extending Support Across NHS Services

While this approach is particularly valuable in neonatal and paediatric settings, the same principles apply across many areas of the NHS where patients and families are required to attend unfamiliar clinical environments.

Digital environments can support a wide range of services, including maternity units, cancer screening centres, outpatient clinics, diagnostic departments and specialist treatment areas. In each case, providing patients with advance access to the clinical setting can help reduce anxiety and improve understanding ahead of appointments or admissions.

Supporting Wayfinding and Navigation

Virtual environments can be enhanced with clear wayfinding tools, helping patients understand how to navigate clinical buildings before they arrive.

This may include:

  • Visual routes through departments and clinics

  • Identification of key locations such as entrances, reception areas and waiting rooms

  • Clear signposting to clinical rooms and treatment areas

Improved wayfinding can be particularly beneficial in large or complex hospital sites, supporting smoother patient flow and reducing stress on arrival.

Providing Clear, Accessible Information

Digital environments can also include annotations and supporting information, offering simple explanations of spaces, equipment or processes where appropriate.

This allows patients and families to:

  • Access information at their own pace

  • Revisit explanations as needed

  • Feel more informed and reassured ahead of care

Supporting Inclusive and Accessible Care

To support the diverse communities served by the NHS, digital environments can be delivered with multi-language options, helping ensure information is accessible to patients and families whose first language is not English.

Providing consistent information in multiple languages supports:

  • Improved understanding

  • More inclusive patient experiences

  • Clearer communication across services

Alignment with NHS & CQC Patient Experience Priorities

The use of digital environments to support patient familiarisation, wayfinding and understanding aligns closely with national NHS priorities around patient experience, safety and inclusion.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Alignment

Responsive

Digital access to clinical environments helps services respond more effectively to patient needs by:

  • Supporting patients to prepare in advance for appointments or admissions

  • Reducing anxiety linked to unfamiliar settings

  • Improving navigation and wayfinding within complex hospital sites

This contributes to a more responsive service, particularly for first-time attenders and vulnerable groups.

Caring

Providing patients and families with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with clinical environments demonstrates a caring, patient-centred approach by:

  • Acknowledging emotional and psychological needs

  • Reducing fear of the unknown

  • Supporting families at stressful points in the care pathway

This supports compassionate care beyond the clinical interaction alone.

Well-Led

The use of digital tools to improve patient experience supports:

  • Proactive service design

  • Consistent information sharing

  • Trust-wide approaches to patient engagement and inclusion

It demonstrates leadership commitment to improving experience through innovation and thoughtful use of technology.

Supporting Safer, More Confident Patient Journeys

By improving familiarity, navigation and understanding, digital environments can contribute to:

  • More confident patient attendance

  • Reduced stress on arrival

  • Better engagement with care teams

  • Improved overall patient experience

This approach complements existing NHS patient information and engagement strategies, providing an additional, accessible layer of support across a range of clinical settings.

NHS Patient Experience Framework

This approach supports key NHS principles, including:

Improving Communication

  • Clear visual information about environments and processes

  • Use of annotations to explain spaces and equipment

  • Consistent messaging delivered digitally

Reducing Anxiety and Improving Preparedness

  • Helping patients and families understand what to expect

  • Allowing information to be accessed at an individual’s own pace

  • Supporting emotional readiness ahead of care

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

  • Multi-language support improves accessibility

  • Reduces reliance on verbal explanations alone

  • Supports more equitable access to information

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