Shoal Point burns patient Simone Aitken felt ‘skinned alive’ at Mackay Base Hospital

A Queensland mum claimed she felt like she was being ‘skinned alive’ after a doctor used a blade to scrape her burned skin into a hallway rubbish bin as she screamed at him to stop. WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES

A Shoal Point mother suffered third degree burns that landed her in Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for nearly a month, but she said it was not the explosive fire that had traumatised her every day since.

Personal trainer Simone Aitken’ was cooking crumbed fish for her three young children Noah, Pia and Ezra Aitken on a Monday night.

Her children, including two-year-old Ezra, were at the dinner table when the pot caught fire.

Personal trainer Simone Aitken’ was cooking crumbed fish for her three young children Noah, Pia and Ezra Aitken on Monday, June 21.

Panicking, Mrs Aitken picked it up with her left hand and rushed it to the sink.

“It completely exploded — the whole roof was alight,” she said.

The flame burnt along her left hand to the elbow, but Mrs Aitken said she did not have time to think of the pain — she had to get her kids out.

Scrambling, she managed to lift the baby out of the high chair using only her right arm and herded her other two children outside.

Shoal Point mother Simone Aitken suffered severe burns to her left arm after her pot caught on fire on June 21, but claims it was her treatment at Mackay Base Hospital which was traumatising. Mrs Aitken spent three and a half weeks at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Picture: Contributed

After her children were safely out of the way, Mrs Aitken made a dash to save her house, running back to grab the burning pot and take it outside.

“My eldest boy was so brave, he ran to the neighbours for help,” she said.

Soon paramedics arrived on scene, racing Mrs Aitken to the hospital as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze.

“The paramedics were amazing. They kept me and my kids calm and provided the best care,” Mrs Aitken said.

‘The doctor grabbed a bin from the hallway and told me to put my arm in it. He got a blade and took the skin off — I was skinned alive,’ Mrs Aitken said.

But she said as soon as she arrived at Mackay Base Hospital, any semblance of good care finished.

“It was the most traumatic care of my life,” Mrs Aitken said.

The mother said she was given a bed and then “the doctor grabbed a bin from the hallway and told me to put my arm in it”.

“He got a blade and took the skin off — I was skinned alive,” she said.

“I was screaming for him to stop.”

‘I could hear them saying ‘send her home we need the bed’,” Mrs Aitken said.

Mrs Aitken said the pain relief she was being given did not work and when she told the doctor, he dismissed her saying she was overreacting.

She said after the ordeal, she was given a bed at the hospital for less than 12 hours with doctors and nurses assuring her she would not need skin grafting.

“I could hear them saying ‘send her home we need the bed’,” she said.

“I was sent home with one endone by 10am the next morning.”

She said the attending Mackay nurse was dismissive of the severity of her burn stating Mrs Aitken would not get a skin graft.

Before she left, a nurse took a photo of her arm and sent it to the burns unit at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

A few days later Mrs Aitken received a call from RBWH staff asking where she was as they were not able to see her in the system at Mackay Base Hospital.

Mrs Aitken said they were shocked to hear she was at home and arranged for her to be flown immediately to the wounds care unit in Brisbane after briefly having her wounds cleaned and dressed at MBH.

She said the attending Mackay nurse was dismissive of the severity of her burn, stating Mrs Aitken would not get a skin graft.

The mother of three said she received a full skin graft and remained in the Brisbane hospital for three and a half weeks.

If she hadn’t had the surgery, Mrs Aitken said she was told she would have ‘lost her arm to infection’.

If she hadn’t had the surgery, Mrs Aitken said she was told she would have “lost her arm to infection”.

“I stayed there for three and a half weeks,” Mrs Aitken said.

Mrs Aitken praised the work of the staff at RBWH but said she remained traumatised from her treatment in Mackay on June 21, refusing to go back to the hospital for wound care and rather paying privately at her medical centre.

“I don’t want them touching me,” she said.

“I don’t want an apology, I want an explanation,” she said.

“I want an explanation as to who is worthy of a bed — what did I need to do to be worthy of a bed that night?”

Mrs Aitken lodged a complaint with Mackay Base Hospital on August 26.

‘I want an explanation as to who is worthy of a bed — what did I need to do to be worthy of a bed that night?’

On September 22, Mrs Aitken received a response, sighted by this publication, from the hospital apologising for her treatment.

The response confirmed Mrs Aitken’s debridement over a “departmental rubbish bin” was not usual protocol and would be addressed with the treating doctor.

In the response, a hospital spokeswoman apologised for how Mrs Aitken was treated regarding her pain.

“This is certainly not the patient experience that we advocate for in our department, nor do we tolerate behaviour towards patients that trivialises or belittles their experience,” she said.

“This will be raised directly with the treating doctor and nursing staff involved”.

Shoal Point mother Simone Aitken Picture: Contributed

In addressing the underestimation of Mrs Aitken’s burns, the spokeswoman said a burns specialist trainee usually reviewed the cases after hours and they were usually checked over by a specialist burns surgeon the next day.

“To try to ameliorate any risk of this in the future, we will include an education session for our own emergency trainees to improve their recognition of burns in the ED that are likely to progress to operative management,” the spokeswoman said.

Ms Aitken said she had a meeting with Mackay Base Hospital on Monday.

This publication reached out to MBH for comment on the alleged incident.

Acting Mackay Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Ms Terry Johnson responded saying the hospital was committed to providing safe and appropriate care to all patients.

“We have established internal processes for investigating feedback patients provide about their care,” Ms Johnson said.

“This process includes open and transparent communication as we work to understand what has occurred, and to learn from that experience.

“This feedback process is continuing with Ms Aitken to provide her with a further opportunity to discuss her experience.”

Originally published as Shoal Point burns patient Simone Aitken felt ‘skinned alive’ at Mackay Base Hospital