• Shortens treatment time; strengthens infection control measures
• Boosts Singapore's emergency response capability and capacity for children

23 October 2025, Singapore – Children with burn injuries in Singapore can now receive faster, more integrated care with the launch of Singapore's first dedicated paediatric Burn Centre at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

The new national paediatric burn unit showcases increased capacity, innovative features and streamlined processes designed to shorten treatment times while strengthening infection control measures.

“In the critical first hours after a child sustains a burn, fast and effective treatment can mean the difference between life and death – and it profoundly shapes their long-term recovery and development. Children are not small adults. They experience pain more intensely, have underdeveloped coping skills and often have great difficulty understanding what is happening to them. That’s why early, specialised care is so crucial. Our new facility is purpose-built to meet their unique needs, significantly improving both the physical healing and the mental resilience of our little ones,” said Dr Gale Lim, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, KKH.

KKH treats up to 400 new cases of children with burn injuries annually, a figure that has remained consistent over the past five years. Infants and toddlers aged two and below are the most vulnerable group, accounting for half the burn cases. Children aged five to 10 are another high-risk group, making up around 17 per cent of the cases.

In 2024, the top three causes of burn injuries in children, which are all preventable, were:

• Scalds (hot water, soups, and beverages, etc.): 71 per cent
• Contact burns (irons, hair curlers, pot covers, oven doors, etc.): 19 per cent
• Friction burns (treadmills and road traffic accidents): 5 per cent

Complete burn care for children in one centre

The KKH Burn Centre takes a holistic approach to caring for children with burn injuries, integrating features that speed up recovery and improve patient comfort:

• Consultation rooms connected to treatment rooms
  Ensures seamless care from assessment to treatment and enhances infection control and emergency response.
• Specialised shower bed
  Enables single-location treatment for wound cleaning and drying under general anaesthesia, eliminating the need to move young burn patients between rooms. Previously, children endured this process awake and in pain. The new feature minimises infection risks and significantly reduces stress, fear and anxiety for children and their parents.
• Dedicated procedure room
  Designed for burn cases but adaptable for non-burn mass casualty incidents, strengthening KKH’s overall emergency response capability and capacity.
• Strategic location
  The KKH Burn Centre is located next to the newly revamped Children's Intensive Care Unit (CICU) for rapid access to critical care in emergencies. The CICU features temperature-regulated and positive pressure rooms for enhanced infection control, providing better care for patients with severe burns.

The Centre is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of plastic surgeons, nurses, and allied health professionals, offering a full continuum of care from acute treatment to rehabilitation.

Children’s pain management at the forefront

As a ChildKind-certified institution, the new KKH Burn Centre is guided by the principle that every touchpoint should be as comfortable, pain-free, and stress-free as possible for paediatric patients and their caregivers. KKH is the first hospital outside North America to receive this international recognition for paediatric pain management.

The Centre also incorporates Child Life, Art and Music Therapy Programmes (CHAMPS) into its care model. Through specialised intervention play techniques, therapists help young patients, and their families cope with the challenges of burn treatment and hospitalisation, reducing stress and anxiety throughout their medical journey.

“The pain of a burn injury can be excruciating for a child and deeply distressing for the caregivers. By prioritising comfort and emotional well-being throughout their care journey, we help children respond more positively to procedures to accelerate and optimise their healing,” added Dr Lim.

The Centre’s environment reflects this child-friendly philosophy, featuring playful, brightly- coloured interiors designed to comfort and soothe anxiety from the moment the child arrives.

Future ready critical care facility

The new KKH Burn Centre is part of the hospital’s ongoing efforts to enhance and expand its services and infrastructure, to future-proof its facilities and ensure scalability of services. Alongside the KKH Burn Centre, its critical care facilities including the CICU, Children’s Step-Down Unit (CSDU), and Women’s Intensive Care Unit (WICU) were recently upgraded. Key enhancements for the intensive care units include:

• Enhanced pressure-controlled rooms provide superior infection control by isolating infectious patients and protecting vulnerable patients
• Switchable privacy glass ("magic glass") providing better hygiene and instant privacy control
• A specially designed door interlock system with a temporary override button enables emergency access while preserving room pressure regimes

The critical care facility is also configured to be pandemic-ready, with capabilities of full isolation as a dedicated pandemic zone, complete with essential support amenities to ensure that KKH remains at the forefront of women’s and children’s health.