​The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Burns Centre is the only specialised healthcare facility that manages major burn injuries in Southeast Asia. Depending on the severity of the burn injury, the recovery process can be lengthy for some patients due to complications such as infections and kidney failure.

A team was formed to look at developing a standard care protocol based on best practices for the management of burns patients. Three years of hard work culminated in a comprehensive 67-page burns management protocol.

The new protocol included an improved fluid resuscitation regimen, better infection control measures, and the introduction of micro grafting as a treatment technique. The team also reviewed and improved workflows.

For example, burns patients are now engaged in early ambulation to help them regain their functional ability more quickly. The team’s hard work has paid off. Since 2014, more than 400 patients have benefitted from the new care protocol, which reduced their length of stay from 16.8 to 12.6 days, and mortality rate from 2.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

SGH Burn Management Team
Singapore General Hospital

Winner of the Best Team - Clinical Practice Improvement Award, Singapore Health Quality Service Awards 2018