The Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) Burns Unit
The
RHH Burns Unit
is a Statewide service which treats patients from all over
Tasmania with serious and minor burn injuries. The inpatient ward and outpatient
clinic are situated within Ward 5A (surgical specialties).
Major burns ie injury to more than 20 per cent of the total body
surface area for an adult or 10 per cent or more of their total body surface
area for children, are one of the most significant traumas the human body can
suffer. The RHH Burns Unit uses the latest medical advances in the treatment of
burns patients. These medical advances and technologies allow people to recover
from severe burns and resume activities they previously enjoyed.
A highly specialised team is required to treat and care for a
severely burned patient. The team consists of a group of people with different
specialties, such specialist doctors and nurses, dieticians, speech
pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and the
crucially important physiotherapists, who all work together to help the patient
and their family.
Physiotherapy
is an important aspect of treating the hard bands of scarring
(contractures) that can form as burn injured areas heal.
Contractures are best prevented by the use of appropriate
splinting, massage and movement and although physiotherapy
exercises can seem overwhelmingly hard work, the
physiotherapists at the RHH are fantastically encouraging and
supportive. Patients may at first resent the painful exercises,
but when recovered are grateful to their physiotherapist for the
rest of their life.
Burns patients can form a close relationship with their treating
team, and it is an ongoing relationship due to the amount of
reconstructive surgery that continues for years after the
initial trauma of the burn injury. The Burns Units Clinical
Nurse Consultant and other experienced nurses on the ward are a
fantastic support for all burns patients. They work very hard,
but are always ready with a smile and a joke.
Unfortunately many burns patients are children and the burns
outpatient clinic has recently been redecorated to make the area
child friendly, bright and welcoming. Colourful murals and
framed pictures drawn by previous paediatric patients now
decorate the walls of the clinic. There is also a DVD player
setup for children attending appointments at the clinic, and
within the inpatient unit there is a projector in the bathroom
which projects a sea landscape image for children and adults to
watch to distract them from sometimes painful dressing changes.
The costs of treating a patient with major burns is very high,
approximately $500,000 for the acute post burn stage alone.
The fantastic team at the RHH Burns Unit provide treatment and
support to patients for the rest of their lives.