Syringe pricks little girl at popular aqua park

The Brisbane mother of a little girl, rushed to hospital after she was pricked by a syringe at a popular park, has shared a warning with parents.

A toddler was pricked by a syringe at Ferny Grove Aqua Park on Australia Day.

A toddler has suffered a needle stick injury at a popular Brisbane aquatic park.

The little girl, aged 2, was spending Australia Day at Ferny Grove Aquatic Park when the terrifying injury happened.

The child’s mother has shared the distressing event, to warn other parents.

“My 2 year old daughter and my husband were in the disabled toilets,” she said.

“My daughter was waiting for my husband and put her hand up under the baby change table and hidden in the bottom was a dirty needle and unfortunately she has grabbed it and has been pricked by it in the thigh.”

The mum said her first reaction when her husband contacted her to tell her what happened was “concern for my daughter... and making sure that my husband didn’t feel any guilt that it was his fault in any way”.

“And then anger that someone would go as low as to hide a dirty needle in a baby change table of all places.”

The harrowing tale has been cited by a chorus or locals as “disgusting”.

The little girl was taken to hospital for a blood test which returned a negative result for transmittible blood diseases but she will be subject to another test in three months’ time, leaving the her young family in a state of limbo.

“The doctor at the hospital told us that there hasn’t been an instance of a child contacting a blood borne disease from a needle stick injury in Australia.

“So that fills me with confidence.

“However there is always that slim chance that the results will be not what we were expecting.

“I’m just trying not to focus on that and be happy my daughter is okay.

“My message to other parents is just be aware and diligent,” the mother said.

“Please check the bathrooms and change table before you let your children near them at Ferny Grove Aqua Park and all parks.

“You never think that your family will be the one that deals with this issue but it goes to show that it can happen anywhere.

“The park was 500m down the road from my house. Just watch your kids and be aware.

“Some people just genuinely don’t care about how their actions affect others.”

Brisbane City Council which confirmed they had been informed about an event.

A council spokesperson said officers were “aware of an alleged incident at the Ferny Grove Aqua Park. Advice at the time was no injury had occurred”.

They said council staff were to inspect the site yesterday and were working quickly to bring sharps disposal containers to the park.

“The toilet block at Ferny Grove Aqua Park is currently cleaned daily, and while it is not a mandatory requirement, we are working to have a sharps container installed as soon as possible.”

More local news:

GALLERY: Brisbane’s first day of school 2021

Northside’s cheapest and most expensive private school’s revealed

North Brisbane nan jailed for defrauding $27k from employer