Wales' top medical adviser has urged people to keep safe and be
sensible to avoid injuries at bonfire night events.
Ahead of a week which can see a high incidence of burns injuries
present at Emergency Departments across Wales, Chief Medical
Officer, Professor Isabel Oliver, said:
“Fireworks can cause severe injury, including burns and breathing
difficulties particularly for people with asthma and respiratory
conditions.
“They should only be handled by adults in a carefully supervised
environment and the safest place to enjoy them is at an organised
public display. Please stand well back and never return to a lit
firework.
“If you build a bonfire, it should be in a safe location with any
necessary permissions.
“The fire should be an appropriate size and located well away
from people, trees and properties taking into account wind
direction.
“Please take care to stay safe.”
The Welsh ambulance service received more than 1,100 emergency
999 calls and a further 1,700 non-emergency calls to NHS 111
Wales on Bonfire Night last year.
Since 2019, the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at
Morriston Hospital, one of Europe's largest and busiest burns
services, has seen more than 60 firework-related injuries.
The Centre in Swansea provides specialist burns care for around
1,000 people a year, roughly half of whom are children.
Over the past year a £7.7m upgrade to this centre of excellence
has created three new burns cubicles and two general intensive
care cubicles in Morriston's main intensive care unit and an
existing theatre has been converted to help treat more burns
patients.
One of the patients to benefit from this additional investment is
Sian Morgan, from Llanelli. Sian received a severe burn injury to
her face, neck and upper limbs, covering 10% of her body, from a
garden bonfire earlier this year.
She spent 10 days in the new ICU facility undergoing skin
grafting. She then spent time rehabilitating in Tempest ward and
is now having ongoing scar management as an out-patient at the
Burns Centre.
Talking about her experience, Sian said:
“The care I received throughout was excellent, from the moment
the ambulance arrived up until I was discharged.
“I could not have asked for a better experience in the
circumstances. It really was gold standard.
“The facilities were first class as well. Having a family room
there was particularly helpful as my husband and family were back
and forth while I was staying there. I couldn't fault anything.”
Notes to editors
If you suffer a burn, follow these steps:
• Move the person away from the heat source.
• Cool the burn with cool or lukewarm water for 20 minutes but do
not use ice, creams or greasy substances.
• Remove any clothing or jewellery near the burnt area, unless it
is stuck to the skin.
• Keep the person warm using a blanket, but avoid contact with
the burn.
• Cover the burn with cling film or a clean plastic bag.
• Use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain
relief.
• Visit the Burns and Scalds page on the NHS 111 Wales website
for further advice.
• Only call 999 for serious or life-threatening emergencies.
