EU Burn Assessment Team Training

Mass casualty burn incidents can overwhelm even the most well-equipped hospitals. Fast and effective triage by mixed teams of experienced burn staff, is critical. Interburns recently led the development and delivery of a highly successful 3 day pilot course to set up EU Burn Assessment Teams (BAT).

Working in partnership with the European Burn Association, the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the CGBIPR, training included: pre-course reading to familiarise participants with essential EU policies, lectures, interactive tasks and a full day simulation of a mass fire emergency in the fictional country, Maland.

Interburn’s many years of experience running innovative training courses in burns were put to good use as participants were tasked with team building games and mapping the processes contained within EU guidelines.

5 teams of 4, each made up of an experienced burn surgeon, nurse, anaesthetist and emergency coordinator, came from France, Austria, the Netherlands, Nordic Countries and Spain to the Fire Services College in Moreton in Marsh, UK. We were also joined by nurses and medical students who carefully dressed wounded burn patients (mannequins!), a persistent film crew to ask the difficult questions that can arise in emergency situations, and the Director of the Hospital in Anjorm, scene of the fire.

The training was a great success and we hope will lead to further training of BAT teams in the future, increasing the ability of EU countries to respond to mass fire events, Thankyou to all!