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Review
. 2022 Oct 15;12(5):210-223.
eCollection 2022.

Burns incident responses worldwide and the role of burn speciality teams: a review

Laura Awad  1 , Keith Allison  1
Affiliations
Review

Burns incident responses worldwide and the role of burn speciality teams: a review

Laura Awad et al. Int J Burns Trauma. .

Abstract

Introduction: Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) have a profound impact on health care systems worldwide. Following recent incidents within the United Kingdom (UK), notably terrorist attacks in Manchester and the Grenfell Tower fire in London, there has been a renewed interest in how the UK would cope with a burn MCI. A Burns Incidence Response Team (BIRT) is a new development incorporated into the Burn Annex of the NHS England National Concept of Operation for Managing Mass Casualties. It is a mobile advice team of healthcare professionals with burns expertise who can support the subsequent management of an MCI, and triage effectively. This review assesses the response to disasters worldwide, detailing national structure, and in particular the involvement of burn specialist teams. This review aims to highlight the roles of burns specialists, and their role within the UK.

Method: A review of Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, UK government reports, annexes and textbooks was conducted.

Results: A search resulted in 826 sources; 42 articles were included in this review, with 9 additional sources. BIRTs are described in the NHS Guideline Concept of Operations for the Management of Mass Casualties: Burns Annex, published September 2020.

Conclusions: The implementation of a national burn response plan is a necessary step forward for effective management of these continuing MCIs. The available literature supports the need for preparation and organized response with a centralized control. Increased awareness and understanding of the role of BIRTs is important and highlights the need for specialist input in the long and short term. Factors which may affect the implementation of BIRT's need to be explored in further detail.

Keywords: Burns response teams; burns disaster; mass casualty incidents.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The national organisation of mass casualty events, UK.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The phases of management following a mass casualty incident (MCI).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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