The concept of Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) began with the report of the Acute Services Review of June 1998 followed by Management Executive Letter (1999) 10, which defined MCNs as ‘linked groups of health professionals from primary, secondary and tertiary care, working in a coordinated manner, unconstrained by existing professional and Health Board boundaries, to ensure equitable provision of high quality clinically effective services throughout Scotland’.

The MCNs for Care of Burns in Scotland (COBIS) was launched in April 2007. It aims to fulfil the core principles outlined in policy documents including the recently published ‘Better Health, Better Care’ and Health Department Letter 21 (2007) Strengthening the Role of Managed Clinical Networks’. The MCN steering group has representatives from each profession involved in burn care, and patients, across Scotland. The mission of the MCN is to ensure that patients who suffer serious burn injury in Scotland:

• Are treated at an appropriate centre
• Are transported safely and expeditiously to that centre
• Receive a standard of care for burn patients irrespective of where they live

Through the network we aim to:

• Optimise the level of support for patients – adults and children – as well as their families and carers.
• Support the establishment and maintenance of a skin bank to ensure there is a safe and satisfactory supply if skin allografts that have been stored and processed in accordance with all the appropriate legislations.
• Initiate and maintain training and educational events to meet the skill requirements and care of burn injury patients.
• Ensure that there are comprehensive plans in place to deal with large numbers of burn victims, which may arise from an adverse event resulting in multiple casualties.
• Establish and maintain a database of complex burn injury in Scotland.
• Set up mechanisms to regularly audit outcome of burn treatment against nationally agreed standards of care

These objectives will be delivered through six subspecialty committees reporting to the MCN steering group, each with representation from adult and paediatric services, patients and carers.

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