Burns

The QVH Burns Unit is a key member of the South East Burns Network which covers Kent, Surrey, Sussex and parts of South London. It provides care for adults and children depending on severity.

In addition, we provide an outpatient clinic, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support, rehabilitation for patients recovering from major burn injury and reconstruction clinics to review healed burns. QVH is also expanding its service to managing vascular anomalies in children and adults.

The QVH Outreach Burns Service provides specialist care for those patients within the region with burns that are not able to be transferred to the Burns Unit or for those with smaller burns who can be managed as out-patients nearer to their homes.

The burns team prefer healthcare professionals to contact them directly by telephone (01342 414440) for advice and to speed up the referral of any acute or chronic burn injury for review. Patients with burn scars that impair function or are symptomatic can be referred into the adult or paediatric burn reconstruction clinic by referral letter or using Choose & Book.

Clinical effectiveness

In 2021 the burns service accepted 1,351 adult (16+) new referrals. We also accepted 697 paediatric burns referrals.

Length of inpatient stay of burns patients is related to the size of their burn, measured as a percentage of their body surface area. We aim that on average, adult patients under the age of 65 should require 1 day inpatient stay per 1% burn. Patients over 65 should require a two-day stay per 1% burn; the length of stay is often complicated by the requirement of complex social care packages which take time to arrange.

We also run a burns support group for people affected by burns (treated at QVH or other hospitals. You can find out more here.

Page last updated: 10 January 2024.

Miss Tania Cubison

Specialist interests: Burns; surgical management of lower limb amputees

Miss Tania Cubison is a military plastic surgeon who first joined Queen Victoria Hospital as an SHO in 1996 and is now the Trust’s Chief Medical Officer. Miss Cubison is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and is responsible for defence burns training.

Miss Cubison underwent specialist registrar training in East Grinstead and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was awarded the McGregor Gold medal for the FRCS (Plast) examination in 2006. She completed her training with a specialist burn fellowship at St Andrew’s Burn Centre, Chelmsford and visits to burn centres in the USA.

Miss Cubison has been an active burns consultant since 2008 and is currently national chair of the Senate for the British Burn Association Emergency Management of Severe Burns Faculty.

Specialising in the surgical management of amputees, she has recently been involved with the new technique of targeted muscle reinnervation, which is producing optimistic results in reduction of phantom pain and general stump pain in the amputee population.

Miss Cubison is committed to patient experience and outcomes and particularly how staff behaviour impacts on patient safety. She has been safeguarding lead and has supported training on the Specialist Advisory Committee in Plastic Surgery.

Miss Cubison was Medical Director from January 2022 to October 2024, having previously served as Deputy Medical Director.

Page last updated: 3 October 2024

Mr Baljit Dheansa

Specialist interests: Burns; scarring; burn reconstruction; skin cancer; breast surgery; scarring, vascular anomalies, breast surgery, children’s plastic & reconstructive surgery.

Mr Baljit Dheansa was appointed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the hospital in 2003 having trained at QVH as well as several London teaching hospitals.

He also works at Tunbridge Wells Hospital to support the clinical teams there including specialist plastic surgery input for complex cases there.

In addition to the burns service he has a keen interest in managing patients with skin cancer, scarring, breast surgery, as well as general plastic and reconstructive surgery for adults and children. More recently he has also developed a sub specialist interest in vascular anomalies.

In addition to his Queen Victoria Hospital roles he is a member of the London and South East Burn Operational Delivery Network, British Burns Association Research Committee and the Scar Free Foundation Research Council.

He runs specialist scar clinics, burns reconstruction clinics and also general plastic surgery clinics.

He is a member of the Sussex Skin Cancer Network and South East Burns Network. He is involved in many aspects of research being a member of the Research and Development Committee, and in several clinical trials in the field of burns, as well as supporting basic and translational science projects.

Baljit is committed to training the plastic surgeons of the future and takes an active role in developing the skills of the junior doctor team. He is also an examiner for the specialist FRCS (Plast) examination.

Baljit is a key supporter of the innovative technologies developed at the hospital such as the excellent telemedicine system, having presented to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee on its benefits to patient care. He is a founding member of the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetics Innovation Special Interest Group which aims to help bring new ideas and innovative products to patients requiring plastic surgery.

Mr Paul Drake

Specialist interests: the treatment of burns, skin cancer and complex lower limb injuries.

Mr Paul Drake was appointed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at QVH in January 2018 and became clinical lead for burns in June 2022.

He is a graduate of both the University of Glasgow and University College London. Mr Drake trained throughout Scotland, completing his higher training in the Canniesburn Unit in Glasgow.

Mr Drake first came to QVH as a Senior Hand Surgery Fellow in 2014 before taking up the role as a Senior Burns Fellow at Mid Essex Hospital NHS Trust. He returned to QVH as a Senior Trauma & Reconstructive Fellow in 2016, before becoming a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (now known as University Hospitals Sussex).

Mr Drake is a member of the UK Faculty of Clinical Informatics and the British Burn Association.

Mr Drake has a keen interest in informatics, clinical audit, and data analysis. He is the Chief Clinical Information Officer for Queen Victoria Hospital and is a member of the Faculty of Informatics. He is also part of the prestigious NHS Digital Academy Leadership Programme.

Miss Rachael Harrison

Specialist interests: Extremity (hand and lower limb); trauma and reconstruction; burns; microsurgery.

Miss Rachael Harrison was appointed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at QVH in September 2022, initially as a locum before being appointed substantively.

Miss Harrison graduated in Medicine from Imperial College London with a first class honours in Surgery and Anaesthesia, following which she trained throughout London and completed higher plastic surgery training in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Miss Harrison has completed both a Hand and Wrist fellowship at Frimley Health NHS Trust and an Extremity Microsurgical fellowship at Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust. This gained her expertise in trauma, reconstruction and planned procedures for the upper and lower limb. She attained the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship for Plastic Surgery (FRCS plas), holds the European Hand Diploma, is on the General Medical Council specialist register for plastic surgery and is a member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Miss Harrison was awarded the Blond McIndoe Research Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England for her research in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. She was awarded a PhD from Imperial College London for her work into gliding tissue interfaces to improve outcomes following hand surgery. Miss Harrison has an interest in translational research and has been involved in many large studies run by the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network (RSTN). She looks to improve links between basic science research and clinical practice to ultimately optimise outcomes for patients.

Page last updated: 10 January 2024.

Mr Omar Dawood

Specialist interests: All aspect of plastic surgery including trauma, burns, breast, hand surgery, skin cancer, perineal reconstruction and general plastic surgery

Mr Omar Dawood joined Queen Victoria Hospital as a Consultant at in 2023. Graduating from the University of Mosul, he completed his rotation and higher training in plastic surgery in Iraq. Recognised for his outstanding achievements, he was awarded a scholarship, a testament to being one of the top graduates in his country.

Mr Dawood subsequently came to the UK, completing his Doctor of Medicine degree and undergoing further training in plastic surgery at various UK hospitals. After completing his specialist exam, he pursued further subspeciality training in trauma and lower limbs, breast and microsurgery for two years. He gained further experience and practice in aesthetic surgery in the Middle East.

In addition to his role at Queen Victoria Hospital, he also supports the clinical teams at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, providing specialist plastic surgery input for complex cases.

Mr Dawood is a fully qualified, UK trained, plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon. He holds the intercollegiate fellowship in plastic surgery, FRCS(Plast), and the Fellowship of European Board of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. He is also listed on the General Medical Council’s specialist register for plastic surgery.

Page last updated: 25 January 2024.