Warning to parents after child is injured by syringe at play park

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THE mother of a four-year-old girl who injured herself on a discarded syringe whilst playing in a local play park, has said it’s only fortunate her daughter didn’t die.

The incident, which occurred earlier this month, resulted in the young girl piercing her finger on what she later described as a “big needle in the grass” at the play area at the bottom of the Ballycolman.

Following the injury however, the youngster became very unwell suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea and had to be taken to hospital, where she was kept in overnight.

Having to assume the worst – that the syringe had been discarded after drug use – medics carried out a number of blood tests, checking for such things as hepatitis.

“She’s a lot better today,” the local mum, who preferred not to be named, explained when she spoke to WeAreTyrone on Wednesday. “She’s just out of hospital. She had to go back to get her Hepatitis B injection and she’s back again in a month for more bloods and another injection, then another appointment three months after that.” She added, “Still the anger hasn’t left me. It’s so horrible. I haven’t slept in two nights worrying about her.”

The local mum said the first she became aware that something was wrong was on the evening of Sunday April 2 when her daughter started complaining that her finger was sore.

“She mentioned the big needle in the grass,” the mum continued. “And I was like, ‘what big needle?’ I went onto Google and looked for pictures and told her, ‘if you see the picture of the thing, point it out.’

“When she pointed out a syringe, the first thing I did was ring my own doctor and I was told, take her straight to A&E.

“She had bloods taken; she had pricked her finger and opened her skin. But the doctor said there was no infection at that time.”

Addressing the person or persons who were potentially taking drugs at the play park and discarded the syringe, the mum said, “They obviously have no thought or consideration for innocent weans playing in a park. It’s disgusting.

“If things had gone differently, she could have died. Parents need to be aware that this sort of thing (drug taking) is happening in play parks.”

In the wake of the incident, local councillors Michaela Boyle and Paul Gallagher have both contacted council to have the play park cleaned.

Cllr Gallagher remarked, “It appears to be a syringe that drug users were using and you have to be saying, stay out of play parks and don’t leave your stuff behind. You’re dropping these things and kids are picking them up. They need to be taking their paraphernalia with them. This is a serious risk to our young people.”

Cllr Boyle added, “My concern is that the park has been a hotbed for antisocial activity. The fact that we have learned that there is drug taking at the park and drug paraphernalia being left behind, it could have devastating consequences for children. I would be pleading to those responsible to stop using a children’s play park as an area where you take drugs.

“Please God the child is going to be OK in the long run.”