Scotland’s leading Burns Unit at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary has continued to treat its patients with care, compassion and skill, throughout the COVID pandemic.
More than 250 patients are admitted to the ward each year, from across Scotland. The team has a close partnership with ICU, where burn patients who require ventilation are treated. The aim of the team is to stabilise and then operate on patients at the earliest opportunity, to increase the chance of survival and achieve positive outcomes.
Senior Charge Nurse, Jacqui Ivison, says: “We get a patient group of varied ages attending due to their burn injuries. Our aim is to stabilise, optimise wound healing, rehabilitate, and restore function as able”.
Patients can be injured through an accident at home, in the work place or through incidents such as bonfires, fireworks, BBQ’s and road traffic accidents among others.
Given the nature of the injuries, some patients can be admitted for a few days, while others may be in the ward for prolonged periods. Care involves a large, multi-disciplinary team; medical staff, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, microbiologists, psychologists, anaesthetists and the intensive care team.
“We treat everyone with compassion and care and work closely to ensure holistic care for our patients,” Jacqui adds.
“What makes our day is seeing a patient get well and getting back to what is their normal.
“It is lovely to see them doing well after what is often devastating, life changing injuries.”
Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Mr Stuart Watson, retired last month after 26 years working in the Burns Unit. He says: “The most important thing is the team of people who work here. They’re all very dedicated and very caring and do so much to look after the patients.”
The partnership with ICU means that patients can be worked on more quickly.
Mr Watson adds: “That matters in terms of improving survival rates and in reducing the amount of time that patients stay in hospital as well as recovery and functional outcomes.”
Mr Watson has seen patients who attended with burns as a child, then worked with them with reconstructive surgery and ongoing clinic attendances through to adulthood. He comments: “It’s probably one of the most interesting parts of the job, you see people with acute injuries, treat those, then work through their reconstruction and rehabilitation and, for some, through clinical attendances for the rest of their lives. With the children we look after, you literally watch them grow.”
Mr Watson paid tribute to his nursing and care colleagues. He adds: “I think there’s something about the spirit of the Burns Unit. They are open and honest and they have a strong sense of what individual patients need, they are involved in the whole process and have an ethos of robust, positive care.”
Last month, Mr Watson received an award for his work providing training and support to colleagues in Ghana, part of an international partnership forged between Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the African country. Several GRI anaesthetists, led by Dr Mike Basler, have also travelled to Ghana to train colleagues in burn care. Nursing colleagues were given the opportunity to join Mr Watson on trips and brought the experience back to Scotland.
“If there’s one single thing I’ll miss,” Mr Watson concludes, “It’s that sense of togetherness. I will miss being part of a group where irrespective of the person’s level in the pecking order, every role is critical in providing the very best in patient care.”
