Involve has announced a pioneering partnership with an intensive care paediatric Children's Hospital in Belize, Central America. The initiative will provide 24/7 digital healthcare centre telemedicine solutions to the Belize Children's Hospital linking Doctors and Nursing staff in Belize with senior clinical staff in the UK and internationally. The technology will also enhance training support, field learning and access to specialist medical resources which would not normally be available to a developing country like Belize. The pioneering service already established in the UK will provide the Children's Unit in Belize with remote Emergency acute assessment, Emergency remote ultrasound scanning, Education - watching live surgery etc as well as access to Multi-Disciplinary teams of specialists.

The announcement comes as the Prime Minister of Belize, Mr Dean Barrow and his wife Mrs Kim Simplis Barrow visit the UK on an official visit. Mrs Kim Simplis Barrow is Special Envoy for Women and Children and has spearheaded the fundraising and development of Belize first Children's Intensive Care Unit.

The incidence of hospital neonatal mortality in Belize remains at a very high level. 50% of critically ill neonates do not survive. Neonatal mortality for 2011 was 15 per 1000 live births. The infant mortality rate in Belize for 2011 was 21.1 per 1000 live births. The leading causes of neonatal deaths in Belize in 2011 were congenital disease, extreme prematurity and early infections. The leading causes of mortality in 2011 among the under five were congenital anomalies, intestinal infections, chronic pulmonary disease and HIV.

For those unfortunate enough to develop conditions which may not be treated in Belize - such as the increasingly frequent diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (A.L.L) the patient and family have no option than to seek treatment abroad. The nearest centres are the Merida in Mexico or in Guatemala City - each is some 24 hours bus journey. The financial costs of accessing such care and treatment are staggering, amounting to thousands of dollars each month - far more than the average monthly income in Belize. The financial cost pales into significance when compared to the social cost of low income parents having to absent themselves from home and work, every month for years of treatment for their child. When combined with the physical strain of travelling with a sick child 24 hours by crowded bus before and after difficult chemo or radiation therapy...the end result is an all too common failure to maintain treatment schedules, frequent relapse and in the end - unnecessary mortality.

Commenting on the initiative Michael Roach, head of healthcare at Involve said "this is a perfect example of how our telemedicine solution can help deliver significant clinical help to the most remote parts of the globe. We are linking up the UK's top clinical experts to directly help Doctors and nursing staff on the ground in Belize.

We hope that this will further demonstrate the impact of our product can have in delivering access to a variety of clinical needs, I am sure we will help save lives in a developing country like Belize and we can demonstrate further the huge benefits of a solution like ours".

Kim Simplis Barrow added, "Linking up our Children's Unit using pioneering technology like this providing access to clinical specialist across the globe gives us a real opportunity to help save life's, I know front line staff in Belize will find this service invaluable and will be an integral part of the unit ensuring our children get access to the very best in clinical knowledge".