Our Services
Many burns can be managed in our Burn Ambulatory Care Clinic however some will require admission. We will admit adults (>16years) for:
- Deep burns involving 10% or more of the body surface area
- Burns to the face, hands, feet, perineum and inner joint surface
- An inhalation injury
- Electrical burns
- Chemical burns
- Burns with a significant pre-existing disease or concurrent injury
- Burns that requires acute pain management
- Major skin loss due to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, Steven Johnson Syndrome, Meningococcal Disease or Necrotising Fasciitis
- Reconstructive surgery
- Patients from the following Local Health Districts (Illawarra Shoalhaven, Nepean Blue Mountains, South Eastern Sydney, South Western Sydney, Sydney, Western Sydney, Far West, Murrumbidgee, Southern NSW, Western NSW & the ACT.)
Admission and Transfer process
If urgent or potential admission, please call the Burns Registrar via switch on 9767 5000 and ask for the burns registrar.
Please refer to the NSW Burns transfer guidelines. Regarding the SBIS retrieval & referral criteria.
Burns Ambulatory Care Clinic
We accept ambulatory patients with an acute or chronic burn injury or other skin and soft tissue loss injury from any Emergency department, Metropolitan and Regional hospitals/ General Practice/ Justice Health/ Mental Health and Interstate Burn Units.
We provide wound management for acute minor burns, as well as extensive ongoing care of burns post discharge from Burn Unit and post reconstructive surgery.
Our allied health clinicians including physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, dietician, psychologist and social worker are integral in our ambulatory patients' rehabilitation in the clinic. Our staff will provide support and education to empower you and your family to achieve optimal independence. We encourage you to advise our staff if you feel you or your family member require additional allied health support.
Please ensure you have an appointment before presenting to the Burn Clinic. Please be aware that you may have to wait even if you have made an appointment, however our staff will try to see you as soon as possible.
To make an appointment please call the burns clinic:
- Phone: (02)9767 7775 Monday- Friday 7am-3pm
- Email: slhd-concordburnsunit@health.nsw.gov.au
Once a staff member has received all relevant information, the most appropriate care pathway will be advised. The burns clinic is promoting a system level approach to burn care to ensure:
- Equitable and timely access to care
- Care that is clinically and culturally safe and individualised
- Care that is patient centred with a focus on outcomes
- Evidence based and reliable
- Enable transparency around the performance of outpatient services and their ability to meet expectations of demand
Care pathways available for burn outpatient services now include face to face appointments and telehealth services either with another care service provider or the patient directly. Sometimes, you may need to attend the Burn Ambulatory Care Clinic to receive initial treatment and then follow up with your GP or Community Nurse supported by our Telehealth service.
NSW TeleBurns - Concord Burns Telehealth Service
The NSW Teleburns Service is a Nurse Practitioner coordinated service that provides virtual access for specialised burns care. Teleburns connects patients and healthcare providers with our multidisciplinary burns team through secure platforms such as MS Teams and MedSync Connect. Teleburns provides timely advice on burn wound assessment, treatment plans, and follow-up care. Teleburns aims to help improve patient outcomes, while reducing unnecessary travel and transfers. Teleburns support is available when clinically suitable and can be provided to patients in all health care settings or the patients home.
This service has a particular focus on patients in rural, and remote areas, who live more than 2hrs driving distance (one- way) from Concord Repatriation General Hospital. Together with eHealth NSW, Teleburns has establish several burns care hubs, which are equipped with high-definition cameras supporting a more connected health system.
WHAT TO BRING TO YOUR 1ST CONSULTATION
- Medicare card
- Photo ID
- Previous X-ray films, scans, ultrasounds or any other test results or reports
- List of medicines you are currently taking
WORKCOVER
- Completed Compensable Patient Registration Form Active Claim Number - If you are unable to provide a claim number please call 9767 7775 to discuss
OVERSEAS VISITORS/STUDENTS
For overseas visitor in Australia on holidays or working, please be aware that you will be required to pay an upfront fee or provide a work cover claim number before we are able to offer treatment.
Overseas students are encouraged to contact their insurer before agreeing to treatment to understand how they will be covered and any out-of-pocket costs that may apply. Fees are scheduled according to the NSW government and are updated annually. Please contact the Burns Clinic to clarify how much you will need to pay.
ALL overseas visitors are required to bring all applicable documents with you as detailed below on your first visit:
- Current Passport
- Current student visa and card
- Current working VISA
- Current insurance
If you are unable to show your passport you will also be required to pay an upfront fee prior to treatment. The fee will vary according to your overseas status.
Concord PC2 Skin Laboratory
The Skin Laboratory service is a clinical facility with cutting-edge technologies of skin tissue cultivation and skin substitute technology. The Skin Laboratory was established in 2001 to grow autologous skin cells and alternative skin graft for severe burn management. The fully GMP certified facility has been constructed within the surgical theatre complex in our burns centre with a purpose-designed, well-equipped clean room and quality monitoring system for the production of cultured cells for clinical application. This laboratory supplies cultured cellular products to all three NSW burn centres under the NSW Severe Burn Injury Service (SBIS), including Concord Hospital, Westmead Children's Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital and to other hospitals in NSW on a case-by-case agreement.
Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Research Group
The Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Research Group focuses on comprehensive investigations within burns, reconstructive surgery and plastic surgery care, with a specific emphasis on translational research in skin tissue engineering. The team is composed of a dynamic group of medical officers and scientists, working closely together and in collaboration with multiple national and international partners, ranging from universities to industry parties. Our laboratory is dedicated to advancing techniques used in burns and reconstructive surgery, translating solutions into the clinical setting to improve the care and quality of life of our patients. Utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as tissue culture, cell biology, molecular biology, cellular and tissue engineering, we strive to produce biologically compatible and safe skin equivalents for the treatment of wounds and scarring. The skin tissue engineered solutions that are created in our laboratory facilitate skin cell attachment and growth. The goal is to repair damaged dermal beds and engineer autologous skin substitutes with an individualised approach that replicate the structures of normal human skin, including epidermis, dermal components, pigment cells, and microvascular vessels, all under laboratory conditions. The research is facilitated by the Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Skin Biobank, which collects skin tissue that would otherwise be discarded, the first biobank in NSW that collects healthy human skin tissue for the purpose of creating skin tissue engineered solutions. By maintaining a close relationship between the laboratory and clinical setting, the Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Research Group aims to bridge the gap from benchtop to the bedside, enabling translational research to improve the outcomes for all patients suffering from burn injuries, and other soft tissue and skin loss.
Burn Chronic Pain Service
The Burn Pain Service is an outpatient service associated with the Concord Hospital Burns Unit. We offer follow up for patients still experiencing pain, itch and discomfort from their burn injuries after hospital discharge from acute care.
Referral from your GP is required and should be directed to the Burns Outpatients Clinic if you have an unhealed wound. Tel. (02) 9767 7775, during business hours. Email: SLHD- ConcordClinics7north@health.nsw.gov.au
We can accept patients who:
- Had more than burns over 10% of the body
- Any electrical injuries of any size
- Significant oral opioid usage at discharge
- Taking more than 60 mg total oral morphine daily
- Taking more than 40 mg total oral Oxycodone daily
- Difficult to control pain during hospital stay and even after discharge home
- Taking any Pregabalin (Lyrica) or Gabapentin at any dose
- Anyone with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Recommendation by Pain Service at discharge
Patients with healed wounds should be referred to the Concord Hospital Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic at Level 4 Medical Centre. Tel (02) 9767 7830, Fax (02) 9767 7841.
