A prospective survey was conducted of all patients requiring admission to the Regional Burns Centre for South East Scotland at Bangour Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. All patients admitted between May 1983 and April 1984 were studied. Details were obtained about the cause and extent of the burn, the immediate first aid measures provided, causes for delay in arrival at the Burns Centre and, when appropriate, the initial care and its adequacy before transferring the victim from another hospital. A total of 276 patients were studied, of whom 152 were transferred. Early management by referring hospitals was often far from ideal, with errors in initial care that should have been avoided.