Cot Cams for Hospitals, Neonatal Wards & NICUs
A project exploring in-cot cameras for NHS and private neonatal services: a way for authorised parents to see their baby remotely, with a controlled and auditable record for the unit.
Cot Cams is at an early stage and is not yet a product. We are gathering interest and requirements from hospitals, neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), neonatal wards and special care baby units. We intend to partner with, or hand the project over to, an established healthcare technology supplier that would develop, supply and support it.
National implementation is now being developed
Following the Thirlwall Inquiry's recommendation that all cots and incubators in all neonatal units should be fitted with in-cot cameras with livestreaming video, the Government has begun urgent work to develop plans for neonatal ‘cot cams’.
By 31 March 2027, NHS England is expected to set out a roadmap for national implementation.
We are gathering interest from NHS neonatal services now, to understand requirements, infrastructure, governance and implementation needs ahead of that roadmap. Register your interest.
Neonatal cot cameras and the Thirlwall Inquiry
The Thirlwall Inquiry examined events at the Countess of Chester Hospital. It has recommended that all cots and incubators in all neonatal units should be fitted with in-cot cameras with livestreaming video, so that parents can observe their baby remotely at any time, with funding that is centrally managed and ring-fenced.
The Government has accepted the recommendation and asked officials to urgently develop plans for neonatal ‘cot cams’. Its full response to the inquiry is still to come. The 31 March 2027 date is the deadline for the NHS England roadmap, not a date by which every unit must have cameras installed.
The Cot Cams project was started in this context, to help NHS and private neonatal services consider an in-cot camera solution that is practical, governed and designed around the needs of parents and clinical teams.
Read the official Thirlwall Inquiry material
The inquiry's official website is the appropriate place to read its report, recommendations and published material.
Introducing cot cameras into a neonatal ward or NICU involves more than selecting a camera. Hospitals must consider cot and incubator mounting, infection prevention and control, network infrastructure, privacy, consent, information governance and the practical needs of nursing teams.
The Cot Cams concept is to address these requirements as part of one connected system.
What are Cot Cams?
Cot Cams is a concept for an in-cot camera solution for hospitals, neonatal wards and neonatal intensive care units. The idea is to bring together the camera, parent viewing and governance trail in one system.
The goal is to give NHS and private neonatal services a considered approach to remote parent viewing, without a unit having to integrate separate products from several suppliers. The concept includes:
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Neonatal cot cameras at every cot
Fixed-position cameras mounted at cot and incubator level, chosen with cleaning protocols, mounting requirements and ward layouts in mind. Camera placement would be planned around the needs of each neonatal unit.
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Remote viewing for parents
Authorised parents would be able to view their own baby from a phone or browser. Access would be granted by the unit, time-limited to the admission, and could be paused by staff at the bedside during procedures.
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A controlled and auditable record
Retention would be set by the trust or healthcare provider. Requests to view or export recorded footage would be logged against a named person and a stated reason, giving a clear audit trail.
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Designed for neonatal wards and NICUs
Cabling, power and mounting would be surveyed bay by bay. Installation would be planned around cot occupancy, infection control and the operational needs of the hospital.
Cot Cams would not be a clinical monitoring device
The Cot Cams concept would not monitor, assess or alarm on a baby's condition. It would not be a substitute for clinical observation or bedside monitoring, and its video should not be relied upon for clinical decisions.
Cot cameras for NHS and private neonatal services
Cot Cams is aimed at healthcare providers that need to consider remote parent viewing in neonatal care environments. We would like to hear from NHS Trusts, NHS hospitals, private hospitals and neonatal service providers.
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NHS neonatal units
For NHS hospitals, neonatal unit managers, matrons, estates teams, digital leads, IT teams and information governance professionals considering cot cameras for neonatal wards and NICUs.
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Private neonatal services
For private hospitals and independent neonatal care providers exploring cot camera solutions, parent viewing and information governance in their neonatal environments.
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Neonatal intensive care units
For NICUs and special care baby units, with installation planning that considers incubators, cot occupancy, network infrastructure and infection prevention requirements.
Are you considering cot cameras for your hospital or neonatal ward?
Register your interest and tell us about your requirements, including cot numbers, ward layout, IT infrastructure, information governance and rollout timing ahead of the NHS England roadmap.
How a Cot Cams rollout could work
An outline of how a rollout could work for hospitals, NHS Trusts and private neonatal services. The detail would be set by the supplier that delivers Cot Cams. Nothing would be installed before the third stage.
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Survey the neonatal unit
The supplier would walk the unit with your estates and IT leads to review cot and incubator numbers, sight lines, mounting points, power, network capacity, parent areas and expressing rooms. You would receive a written scope and a costed proposal based on the survey.
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Agree governance and privacy
The supplier would work through the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria and support your data protection impact assessment with your information governance team. Retention, lawful basis, consent, staff consultation and the parent privacy notice would be agreed in writing at this stage.
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Install cot cameras
Installation would be staged bay by bay around cot occupancy and your infection control protocol, with each stage signed off by the unit before the next begins.
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Go live and support
Training for nursing and ward clerk staff, a plain-English parent guide, and named support with response times agreed in the contract, with reviews of usage and incidents at 30 and 90 days.
Information governance for hospital cot cameras
Video of a baby in a neonatal unit is sensitive personal data. Cot Cams is at an early stage, and we would rather be clear about where it stands than claim assurances that do not exist.
Current status
Cot Cams is a concept. There is no product, production specification or delivery supplier in place yet, and no assessment or certification has been completed.
Target requirements for a production solution
Before any unit could go live, the applicable assessments, certifications and NHS requirements would need to be completed and evidenced. These are the requirements we would expect a delivery supplier to meet:
- Data residency
- All footage and personal data held in the United Kingdom.
- Encryption
- Encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Access
- Role-based, granted by the unit, time-limited to the admission and revocable immediately.
- Audit
- Every view and export of recorded footage logged against a named person and a stated reason.
- Retention
- Set by the trust, enforced automatically, with deletion evidenced.
- Assessments
- DTAC, support for your DPIA, and clinical risk management under DCB0129 and DCB0160 where applicable.
- Security
- Cyber Essentials Plus and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit.
- Exit
- Your data exportable and deletable on request, including at the end of a contract.
None of these is complete. Any supplier that takes Cot Cams forward would need to evidence them before installation.
Questions about neonatal cot cameras
Is 31 March 2027 a deadline to have cot cameras installed?
No. It is the date by which NHS England is expected to set out a roadmap for how in-cot cameras will be implemented, not a date by which every unit must have cameras in place. A separate recommendation asks all neonatal units to meet the NHS England requirements for insulin access control and storage by the same date. The two are often confused, but they are different recommendations.
Is this surveillance of staff?
It would be a camera in a workplace, so it would see staff. Staff consultation would therefore be part of the governance stage. Units should agree in writing with staff-side representatives what footage can and cannot be used for before any cameras are installed.
What happens when parents should not have access?
Access would be granted by the unit, not claimed by the parent, and could be withheld or withdrawn. Where there is a safeguarding concern or a court order, the unit would control the view.
Can Cot Cams run on our hospital network?
A survey would establish the requirements. Bandwidth, segmentation and whether cameras sit on a separate VLAN would be decisions for your IT team. The aim is to work to the hospital's requirements rather than arrive with one fixed network model.
What do neonatal cot cameras cost?
There is no pricing yet. It would depend on cot count, mounting, network work and installation requirements, and would be quoted by the delivering supplier after a survey.
Is Cot Cams available for NHS and private hospitals now?
No. Cot Cams is an early-stage project and is not available to buy. We are gathering interest from NHS neonatal units and private healthcare providers ahead of the NHS England roadmap, and intend to partner with, or hand the project over to, an established healthcare technology supplier that would develop and supply it.
Who is behind Cot Cams?
Cot Cams is run by COT CAMS LIMITED, a private company limited by shares, registered in England and Wales (company number 17534396). We are not a medical device manufacturer, supplier or installer.
We gather expressions of interest and pass them on. When you register, we will share your details with one or more technology companies that could deliver cot cameras, and with other relevant suppliers, so that they can contact you. We may be paid for this, as a one-off payment or under an ongoing agreement. We may also partner with, or hand the project over to, an established healthcare technology supplier. Our Privacy Notice explains this and how to object.
Is Cot Cams connected to the Lucy Letby case?
The Cot Cams project was started in the context of the wider discussion about neonatal monitoring following the Thirlwall Inquiry. The inquiry examined events at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Cot Cams is an independent project and is not part of the inquiry, the NHS or any investigation into individuals.
Register your interest in Cot Cams
Are you an NHS neonatal unit, private hospital or healthcare provider exploring cot cameras for your neonatal ward or NICU? Tell us who you are and we will get in touch.
We would like to hear from neonatal unit managers, matrons, information governance leads, digital and IT leads, estates teams and parent representatives, ahead of the NHS England roadmap due by 31 March 2027.
Cot Cams is an early-stage project, not yet a product. We intend to partner with, or hand the project over to, an established healthcare technology supplier to develop and supply it.
Your details will be passed on. Cot Cams does not supply cot cameras itself. When you register, we will share your details with technology companies that could deliver them, and with other relevant suppliers, so that they can contact you directly. We may be paid for this.
Registering is not a commitment to buy.