Festival funds help bring advanced foetal monitoring to local hospitals
Families across the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD) are now benefiting from safer, more patient-centred care thanks to the introduction of a new, digital foetal monitoring system, funded with generous support from the Leura Gardens Festival.
The advanced foetal monitoring system is now installed across all four of NBMLHD’s maternity units at Nepean, Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Hawkesbury hospitals.
The K2 INFANT-Guardian system records and analyses a baby’s heart rate and the mother’s contractions during pregnancy and labour, storing everything digitally instead of on paper.
Real-time foetal monitoring and an intuitive interface for clinical notes allows for improved oversight, communication and patient safety. This gives midwives more time with their patients while also allowing doctors and specialists to step in more quickly when needed.
On the frontline, the benefits are clear. Reenie Kuypers, Nursing and Midwifery Manager at Blue Mountains Hospital, says the new system saves time, and allows staff to focus on women in their care.
“It is not an intrusive system, and the monitor can even be positioned outside the room,” explains Reenie.
“It helps women have more of a sacred space to labour while still being monitored safely.”
“It means more time to be with mums in labour, rather than with paperwork,” Reenie explains.
“Dads and partners love the system too. They can see and understand what’s going on by looking at the screen, and it helps them feel involved and reassured.”
One of the most important improvements is the ability for doctors to provide rapid advice from outside the hospital.
“Patients can be supported more quickly than ever before,” says Reenie Kuypers.
“On-call doctors can log on at home and give us immediate instruction on their way into hospital.”
The system also allows staff in smaller hospitals to consult remotely with specialists at Nepean, including obstetricians and maternal foetal medicine experts, ensuring timely second opinions and greater confidence in decision-making.
The system also ensures continuity of care across the District. If a patient begins their pregnancy in the Blue Mountains and later requires specialist care, their full digital record is available instantly at Nepean. This reduces delays, avoids repeat tests, and gives clinicians a clearer picture of what is normal for each baby.
Justine Elliott, Clinical Midwifery Consultant, was central to the system’s roll-out, and says that the change has been both beneficial and keenly anticipated.
“It has changed the way we document an entire labour and birth,” says Justine, also acknowledging the sustained effort by colleagues who helped bring the project to fruition.
“We could not have done it without the midwives and midwifery managers at Lithgow, Blue Mountains, Nepean and Hawkesbury, our educators, and the ICT team.”
The Leura Gardens Festival Committee contributed $240,000 towards the project, which has enabled Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital to implement the system and provide better care for new mothers and their babies.
“We always ask what the hospital wants, and fortunately they had a cracker of a project for us,” explains Leura Gardens Festival Committee President David White.
“One of the things that was really interesting for us was the interconnectivity with the other hospitals in the LHD.”
The Leura Gardens Festival, which made this upgrade possible, returns from Friday 3 to Monday 6 October 2025. The event will showcase eight cool-climate private gardens across Leura and Wentworth Falls, with proceeds once again supporting local health care and community projects. The Festival has been running since 1965 and continues to combine natural beauty with community generosity.