Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has announced a major expansion of its 360° virtual hospital tour, giving children, young people and families a more immersive way to explore the hospital environment before visiting in person.
Funded by Alder Hey Children’s Charity, the enhanced virtual tour allows users to experience Alder Hey’s facilities through interactive 360‑degree views, enabling them to walk through key spaces as if they were there – all from the comfort of home. The project supports Alder Hey’s Vision 2030 ambition to improve patient and family experience through innovation.
Designed specifically with children and young people in mind, the virtual tour aims to:
- Improve the overall experience of visiting Alder Hey
- Help families understand where to go and what different areas look like
- Reduce anxiety by familiarising users with clinical and non‑clinical spaces before arrival
By allowing families to explore the site in advance, the tour helps children feel more confident and prepared for appointments, procedures or hospital stays.
The expansion introduces 52 new embedded videos, bringing the total number of videos within the tour to 110. These are complemented by avatars of staff and young people, along with enhanced signage that supports easier navigation and helps explain what to expect in different areas of the hospital.
Together, these features create a more engaging and accessible digital experience, particularly for younger users and those visiting Alder Hey for the first time.
The latest phase significantly expands the areas available to explore, adding a wide range of clinical, research, community and outreach spaces across the Alder Hey campus and beyond.
An additional 125,585 square feet has been mapped in this phase, bringing the combined total across phases one and two to 313,585 square feet.
Alder Hey’s Chief Nurse, Nathan Askew, said:
“By mapping newer areas and expanding our 360° virtual map, we’re allowing families to see more of Alder Hey before they arrive, helping them understand where they’re going and what to expect. We know from the positive feedback from the initial virtual map that this helps to reduce anxiety and improve the overall experience.”
With this expansion complete, the project now represents the first full hospital map of its kind and the largest 360° hospital model in Europe.
Since its original launch, the virtual tour has attracted more than 30,000 visits and has been used by over 17,000 people, highlighting its value in helping families feel informed, reassured and empowered ahead of hospital visits.
Image credit: Alder Hey Children’s NHS FT
