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CCTV and monitoring

Thirlwall Inquiry · Thirlwall Inquiry Final Report · Issued 15 September 2026 · Addressed to: NHS England

Government responseDepartment of Health and Social Care: Accepted (Sep 2026)

DeliveryNHS England says in progress (Sep 2026)Department of Health and Social Care says in progress (Sep 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 33

All cots and incubators in all neonatal units should be fitted with baby monitors (in-cot
cameras with livestreaming video), so that parents can observe their baby remotely at
any time. The funding for this should be centrally managed and ring-fenced, to ensure
consistency and implementation across all neonatal units at speed. By 31 March 2027, NHS
England should set out a roadmap for how this will be implemented.

Thirlwall Inquiry, Thirlwall Inquiry Final Report · 15 Sep 2026 Source PDF, page 1 →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

In September 2026, Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHS England Chief Operating Officer, stated that the organisation will "develop a national approach to support neonatal units to implement this", drawing on learning from places where monitors are already used (Duncan Burton; Sarah-Jane Marsh, Sep 2026). This followed an oral statement earlier that month by Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who accepted the recommendation and directed officials to urgently develop plans for cot cameras (Yvette Cooper response, Sep 2026).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

Government response

●Department of Health and Social Care · Accepted · 15 Sep 2026

Words of: Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, oral statement to the House of Commons, 15 September 2026 (text as published on GOV.UK)

On safety and reassurance for parents, Lady Justice Thirlwall recommends the introduction of video baby monitors for neonatal units. I agree. I have asked my officials to urgently develop plans for cot cams, which can also help parents feel better connected to their babies when they are not able to be with them in person.

Extract from: Government response to the Thirlwall Inquiry

Delivery

●NHS England says in progress · 22 Sep 2026

Urgently work to develop plans for all cots and incubators in all neonatal units to be fitted with baby monitors (in-cot cameras with livestreaming video), so that parents can observe their baby remotely at any time. Taking learning from places where this is already used, we will develop a national approach to support neonatal units to implement this.

From: Thirlwall Inquiry report and recommendations (letter PRN02660)

Site note: NHS England's letter to NHS trusts and integrated care boards (PRN02660), signed by Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHS England Chief Operating Officer. The letter bears no date; NHS England published it on 22 September 2026, and it calls the leadership event of 22 September "tomorrow". The passage is under the letter's heading "Recommendations", which lists the actions the Secretary of State committed to in her statement of 15 September 2026; its last sentence is NHS England's own undertaking.

●Department of Health and Social Care says in progress · 15 Sep 2026

urgent work to develop plans for CCTV, including ‘cot cams’, in neonatal settings to improve safety and provide reassurance to parents

From: Government to act on Thirlwall patient safety recommendations

Site note: Department of Health and Social Care press release of 15 September 2026. The passage is one item in a list of measures the government says it has begun "while it considers the inquiry's recommendations in full"; the release does not number the recommendations. The recommendation is addressed to NHS England; this is the Department's account.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.