Burn Units in Canada

[mariomike]

In case of a burn related MCI in Ontario, Canada’s largest burn centre is at Sunnybrook Hospital. It has 14 beds.

Thirty percent of patients come from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), while 70% are referred from across Ontario.

The Hospital for Sick Children "Sick Kids" is Canada's busiest pediatric burn centre with 14 beds.

When one considers a nightclub fire in Boston killed 492 , and injured 130 , that's not a lot of beds .

 

[Staff Weenie]

Compound that with the fact that these are not typically short-stay patients. I suspect some of those beds are occupied for months at a time.

 

[Haggis]

Compound that with the fact that these are not typically short-stay patients. I suspect some of those beds are occupied for months at a time.

I have an older cousin who suffered second and third degree burns over, I think, 60% of his body while 3 years old. He spent two years in a burn unit.

 

[Blackadder1916]

For context to the discussion, some info about guidelines used for burn patient referrals. The Canadian Burn Association endorses the ABA guidelines and protocols.

Burn Patient Referral Guidelines | American Burn Association

Guide clinical teams and burn centers with ABA’s burn patient referral guidelines. Includes best practices in assessment, fluid resuscitation, pediatric care, and second-degree burns.

www.ameriburn.org

Guidelines for Burn Patient Referral​

Developed to support clinical teams, these guidelines are intended to aid in referral decisions and should not be used as a substitute for professional judgment. If referencing or sharing these guidelines, please cite the American Burn Association as the original source.

If you have sustained a burn injury, please seek medical advice from a medical professional.

And a couple of referral guidelines/algorithms from Ontario.

https://kwemamd.ca/documents/CCSO_Burn-Centre-Consultation-Guidelines_EN_20240131.pdf

https://tbrhsctraumaprogram.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Trauma-Burn-Guidelines.pdf

And for those who like to get down into the weeds, this 2023 Master's of Nursing thesis "Burn Mass Casualty Incident Planning in Alberta: A Case Study".

https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/c9394125-4b4e-40ff-a8ad-3a582e94eec7/content