Every year about 600,000 people in Bangladesh suffer burn injuries, many of whom are women whose sarees catch fire when cooking over open-fire stoves. To help doctors and nurses develop capabilities in burns treatment, healthcare professionals from Singapore General Hospital (SGH) have been working closely with hospitals in Bangladesh with the aim to improve the survival outcomes of burns victims.

In November 2017, a multidisciplinary team from SGH visited the National Institute of Burns & Plastic Surgery in Bangladesh to treat burns victims as well as to conduct clinical training. The team led by Dr Chong Si Jack, Consultant at SGH’s Department of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery comprised of six doctors from three specialties, four nurses, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist. It was the second time the SGH team visited Bangladesh. With their expertise in building up the SGH skin bank, the medical team will also be helping Bangladesh develop its own new skin bank that will be ready by the end of 2018.

Dr Chong shared that, “One of the key highlights of the projects are nurses leading and administering analgesia so that they can carry out large dressings in Bangladesh.” “With the nurses being empowered and able to carry out a procedure such as dressing change, this will benefit more patients and lead to better outcomes for the patients eventually,” he added.

This collaboration comes under a three-year Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and SingHealth. The programme, supported by Temasek Foundation International, aims to train over 300 specialists and 10 hospital leaders in Bangladesh in areas such as reconstructive surgery, surgical wound management of massive burns and rehabilitation. The training will be further shared to another 900 nurses by 60 master trainers over the period of three years.

Bangladesh’s State Minister for Health, Zahid Malik, shared that “Our Prime Minister also felt the need for an institute where we can not only treat our people but train our people.” “With this collaboration, we feel that our doctors and nurses will be trained with knowledge and experiences that will be world class,” he added.

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About Temasek Foundation International

Temasek Foundation International is one of the six non-profit philanthropic organisations set up by Temasek and sponsored through Temasek Trust.

Temasek Foundation International funds and supports programmes that aim to build capabilities in communities in Asia and beyond. Designed and implemented with programme partners, these programmes build human and social capital development and contribute towards a more vibrant and connected global community, with positive networks of cooperation. The programmes also aim to enhance capabilities in the areas of health care, education, public administration, urban management and disaster response.

Did you know?

Under normal conditions, our skin is able to mend itself from daily wear and tear. However, when skin gets too badly burnt or damaged, it is unable to repair itself without help. For patients with severe burn injuries, one way to promote healing is to cover the wound with donated skin which helps to relieve the patient’s pain and discomfort, prevents risk of infection and minimises fluid loss. Without skin transplant, many severe burns patients could succumb to severe infection, leading to mortality. As with other organs, skin can be donated upon a person’s death. The role of a skin bank is to recover, prepare and preserve donated skin to be used for burns treatment.