Boy with scalp ripped open waited two days for medical flight to Perth

Kimberley boy with scalp ripped open left waiting two days for RFDS flight to Perth In short: An eight-year-old boy whose scalp was partially ripped open in an accident was forced to wait almost two days for a transfer to Perth from WA's remote East Kimberley. Rachel McKay says her son's skull was exposed by the horrific injury, but he was not prioritised. The WA Country Health service has apologised for failing to meet the family's expectations. An eight-year-old boy was left waiting almost two days for an urgent medical transfer to Perth after a horrific accident in Western Australia's remote East Kimberley. CONTENT WARNING: This story contains details of injuries that some readers may find distressing. Rachel McKay says her son's scalp was ripped open and his skull exposed after a motorbike crash in Warmun, around 3,000 kilometres north of Perth, on Sunday June 7. "He cut his head from below his eyebrow up to the crown of his head," she said. "Basically his skull was showing. He'd de-gloved most of his forehead and up to his head." Degloving refers to an injury where the top layers of skin, muscle and other tissue are ripped free of the underlying structure of the body. Ms McKay said the eight-year-old was taken straight to the Warmun clinic, run by WA Country Health. After an initial assessment they were video-linked to a doctor. "I'm assuming she was a doctor from Perth, I'm not really sure," Ms McKay said. "She advised he would have to go to Perth for surgery [as] it was a serious injury to his head." The family were left waiting for 2-3 hours before clinic staff advised a Royal Flying Doctor Service transfer would not happen. "We were told a doctor plane wasn't going to come because it was getting late and the airstrip didn't have any lights,"Ms McKay said. Flight on, then off She said they were released from the clinic's care but within an hour his conditioned worsened and the family considered driving 200km to Kununurra Hospital for treatment. Ms McKay said after contacting the Warmun clinic for advice she was told to travel 161km south to Halls Creek instead, where a transfer flight could land. "[Staff] told us a doctor flight would be waiting to take us to Perth," she said. "We got to the hospital and they basically told us there wasn't going to be a flight and admitted us [to Halls Creek Hospital] for the night." With her son unable to see through swollen eyes and in severe pain, Ms McKay said he was in significant distress. An RFDS transfer was finally secured on the evening of Tuesday, June 9. The family landed in Perth at 11pm, almost 48 hours after his accident, and immediately underwent surgery. Two months on the eight-year-old is recovering well but Ms McKay said the long wait for a transfer had left her with significant concerns over the quality of care being offered in the region. "Why does it take two days for an eight-year-old with a serious head injury to be picked up?" she said. "We're scared that if something serious happens we're not going to be seen to or cared for appropriately." RFDS under pressure The RFDS is the only option for urgent medical transfers from communities outside safe driving distance from Perth, with three jets and 17 turbo prop aircraft tasked to take people from remote or regional areas to major hospitals. RFDS WA made 17,684 flights and transferred 10,498 patients in the 2025–26 financial year. The McKays' experience comes in the wake of admissions from WA's Country Health Service and the RFDS said there was unusually high demand for patient transfers across the state's north. Five patients are currently awaiting transfer from Karratha, with a 10-year-old boy with a shattered kneecap facing almost a week's wait for a flight to Perth. The RFDS said on average it was transferring 29 patients a day in regional WA. In response to Ms McKay's story, a WA Country Health Service spokesperson said while its records "differed to her account" it recognised it was a "stressful situation for our patient's family". "We apologise we did not meet expectations on this occasion," the spokesperson said. "In the case of this patient they were tasked for retrieval in line with their clinical presentation, however did face a short delay due to a more clinically urgent retrieval as well as adverse weather conditions." The spokesperson said retrieval services were tasked according to clinical urgency and local staff organised that directly through the Acute Patient Transfer Coordination Service. [Image text:] RioTintc ileFligh VH-VWO