Burn protocols agreed in Occupied Palestinian Territories

Protocols on all aspects of managing burn patients are essential for staff working in burn units to function efficiently and maintain good standards of care. They are practical working tools for daily use in the burn unit, and inform staff how to do something, whether it be to manage pain, prevent infection, or refer a patient for onward care.

Since 2021, Interburns, alongside partners, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and colleagues from Gaza and the West Bank, have been working to revise the National Burn Protocols that cover the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). The aim of the review was to bring the protocols up to date, and see if recent research and advances meant changes in practice were recommended.

Since the protocols were devised in 2012, additional materials have been published in the international arena, including the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) practice guidelines. Additionally, in local use, are Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) burn guidelines. It was important to ensure there were no inconsistencies or conflicting information being followed and that burn teams were working together. Following review, recommendations were made for the development of improved or new protocols.

In an impressive spirit of collaboration, working groups of expert clinicians in Gaza and the West Bank separately convened to address specific protocols, which were then cross-referenced by other teams. There was superb engagement from all the working groups and a substantial, well researched and comprehensive body of work has been produced.

We are delighted that both Ministries of Health in Gaza and the West Bank recently endorsed the new protocols and we extend our congratulations to all involved. We look forward to supporting implementation of the protocols in future. Our thanks to MAP for funding this work as well as great ongoing collaboration.