Adult Burns Service

The Adult Burns Service provides specialised acute, surgical and reconstructive care to those who have received a burn injury by thermal, chemical, electrical or radiation causes. It comprises the Burns Unit and the Burns Unit outpatient clinic. 

The Adult Burns Service is renowned for its innovation in burn care and treats approximately 450 inpatients and sees around 3,000 outpatients every year. The 15-bed unit provides services for patients over the age of 16 for:

• acute burn treatment and burns surgical intervention
• burns reconstruction
• scar management
• rural and remote burn care via trained ‘burns link specialists’ and telemedicine consultations
• community prevention
• disaster management.

The Adult Burns Service, located on Level 7, Zone G of the RAH, includes the Burns Unit and the Burns Unit outpatient clinic. The Burns Unit outpatient clinic is open Monday through Friday (except public holidays) between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. 

The Adult Burns Service is a multidisciplinary team, represented by health professionals across medical, surgical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, speech pathology, psychology and social work sectors.

A/Professor Marcus Wagstaff – Head of Unit

You need a referral letter from your general practitioner or specialist to access this service. Your doctor will send your referral letter to us. Once we receive it, we will send you a confirmation letter with appointment details. 

• take your recommended pain relief 30 minutes before your appointment
• bring a copy of your referral letter
• bring your current Medicare card, any applicable concession cards or private health card.

If you need to cancel or change your appointment time, contact the Burns Unit directly.

We understand that travelling to Adelaide for specialist appointments can be challenging, especially for those who live in rural and remote regions.

We can discuss telehealth or local options for ongoing wound care if they are available in your area and deemed suitable for your treatment.

The Patience Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS) is also available to patients who travel over 100km each way to see a specialist. 

We accept referrals from general practitioners, emergency departments, other hospitals and specialists.

To refer your patient, complete the referral form and email us. To ensure timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details. For urgent referrals, contact the Burns Referral registrar on 0435 051 631.  

The referral criteria for tertiary burns unit assessment include:

• adult burns > 10%
• full thickness burns of any size
• burns of special areas – face, neck, hands, feet, developing breasts, genitalia, perineum
• electrical burns
• chemical burns
• circumferential burns of the neck, chest or limbs
• burns at extremes of age e.g. children, the elderly
• burns with concomitant medical illness e.g. diabetes, paraplegia
• burns with concomitant trauma e.g. inhalation injury, fractures
• burns with concomitant psychiatric illness
• any other burn that the referring department is not confident to send home.

The Burns Unit is located on Level 7, Zone G at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Go to Level 3 (ground floor), take the G lift to Level 7 and follow the signage to the unit.

Visiting hours in the Burns Unit are between 12:30 pm and 8:30 pm. 

Visiting times may be negotiated with nursing staff if required. In exceptional circumstances, one family member may be granted permission to stay overnight.

The Burns Unit’s infection control policies are in place for the protection of patients and extend to visitors. Visitors are required to present themselves to the nurse’s station and follow directions regarding infection control requirements, prior to entry into the patient rooms.

Day visitors are normally limited to 2 people at a time. Additional visitor restrictions may apply.

Please contact the ward prior to confirm current visitor requirements.