EU teams train for mass casualty burn disasters.

Mass casualty incidents that result in burn injuries present unique challenges calling for specialist skills, expert knowledge and the timely availability of resources to assess and manage the injured.

Within Europe, burn care is centralized in highly specialized burn centres which often have limited capacity and may be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in cases, as was the case in a night club fire in Romania in 2015. Simple and effective standardised approaches can improve patient outcomes and strengthen local health system capacity.

In partnership with the EU, Interburns has led a consortium of the European Burns Association (EBA), the Norwegian Directorate of Health, Training in Aid and Johanniter to develop and deliver a dedicated training course so that national Burn Assessment Teams (BAT) can respond to mass casualty incidents in an effective, timely and efficient manner to ensure optimal patient outcomes.

Three courses in late 2022 and early 2023 trained 15 teams from Scandinavia, Denmark, Norway, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia, France, Belgium (2), Spain and Germany.

Pre-course online learning familiarises teams with essential EU policies, UCPM procedures and the European Burn Response Plan before they are immersed in three days of face to face training including small group activities and a mass burn simulation to undertake secondary triage assessment of burn victims, including on-going patient care and advising local authorities about priorities for transfer.

A participant noted: “A very, very impressive course. I really feel that I have gained a lot of understanding of how the European system works and I feel much better prepared for a potential future mission”.

 We would like to thank our partners at the EBA, Norwegian Directorate of Health, Training in Aid and Johanniter as well as the surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists and coordinators who took part.

Special thanks go to staff at Woudschoten Hotel and Conference Centre and staff at the Major Incident Hospital, UMC, Utrecht for use of their excellent facilities.

The European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) was set up in 2001 to protect people, the environment and property against natural and manmade disasters. Improving the coordinated response to managing mass burn incidents, is a priority within the UCPM.