The aim is to bring Rigshospitalet’s advanced intensive care equipment and skilled specialists right to the child’s side, enabling healthcare staff to stabilise, diagnose and provide highly specialised treatment whilst the child is being transported to Rigshospitalet.

The Babylances are designed and equipped to provide the safest possible environment for vulnerable children, their parents and healthcare staff throughout the journey.

Among other things, they can accommodate two incubators, allowing twins to be treated simultaneously, and are equipped with modern technology that improves working conditions for healthcare staff during transport.

The safety and well-being of the whole family have been a key focus throughout the development process. The layout of the treatment area allows parents to be present during the procedure. 

Another new feature is that the Babylances can now accommodate a standard ambulance stretcher, so that, in special circumstances, the mother can be transported lying down alongside her baby. That way, you avoid splitting the family up in a difficult situation.

The Department of Neonatology at Rigshospitalet have been instrumental in the development of the new Babylances:

“At Rigshospitalet, we have skilled specialists to care for newborns, premature babies and young children. But, of course, not all children are born at Rigshospitalet. That is why there is a great need for a highly specialised transport team to be on standby around the clock, so that we can offer our help to seriously ill children, wherever they are in the country".

"Transporting a seriously ill child is not without risk. With the Babylances, we want to pack the best of Rigshospitalet into a small, mobile unit and head out onto the roads with sirens blaring and blue lights flashing,” says Morten Breindahl, who is the consultant doctor in charge of the Babylances and Head of the Department of Neonatology at Rigshospitalet.

Regional Council Chairman Lars Gaardhøj describes the new Babylance initiative as a significant boost:

“It is a very difficult situation to find yourself in when you become a parent to a child who needs urgent treatment. With the new Babylances, we have even better facilities for providing treatment en route, whilst also reassuring parents, who are, of course, able to accompany their child in the Babylance. I would therefore also like to extend my sincere thanks to the sponsors who have supported the development of the new Babylances, much to the delight of the children and their families,” he says. 

The Babylances are staffed by paramedics from the Capital Region’s Emergency Services, and the role requires both a high level of professional expertise and great care.

“We meet families at some of their most vulnerable moments. That is why it is important that we can provide the necessary treatment while also offering parents a sense of calm and reassurance. The new Babylances give us even better options for both,” says Thomas Reimann, Director of the Capital Region of Denmark’s Emergency Services.

The Babylances have been developed with donations from the A.P. Møller Foundation and Copenhagen Group A/S, which, via the Foundation for Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital, have each contributed DKK 7.5 million to the project.

The new Babylances will be officially commissioned on 20 May at Rigshospitalet.