There are new concerns over discarded needles after a child was reportedly poked by a syringe in a Port Coquitlam Park.
The child was a part of the Early Learning Childcare Centre, which operates next to Fox Street Park, where the incident happened on Wednesday.
Laura Taylor’s child attends the same daycare, and she said children are often taken to the park to play during the day.
On Wednesday, she said one of the kids was pricked by a needle in a gravel area, and was taken to hospital for a Hepatitis B shot.
LISTEN: Child pricked by discarded needled at Port Coquitlam Daycare
She said she’s happy with the way the daycare handled the incident, and that all parents received a letter Wednesday evening telling them the youth is being watched closely and “seems to be doing OK.”
But the presence of used needles in the park has been a growing concern for Taylor, who said problems in the neighbourhood have escalated since a nearby RainCity transitional housing project opened in 2015.
“There have been multiple incidents where there are people who are passed out in the park, people who are being sexually inappropriate in the park when the kids go over,” she said.
“And this is in the middle of the day.”
WATCH: Calls for more ‘Needle Rangers’ in Vancouver parks
Port Coquitlam Cllr. Glenn Pollock said the city already had the park on its radar.
“I think what happened here was the fact that it was buried in the pea gravel was the issue.”
Dr. Ingrid Tyler with Fraser Health said that while it’s always a concern when there is an incident of this type, it is uncommon to pick up an infection from a needle prick.
“It’s important to note that while this can be very worrisome for the family and the community, the actual risk of infection following a needle stick injury is very very low and there have been no reported cases of HIV, Hep C or other diseases being transmitted in this way in the community.”
Catharine Hume, co-executive director with RainCity housing said that as a mother, she empathizes with the parents of the child who was pricked.
But she said it’s not fair to pin the incident on her organization.
“I also want to be really clear that needles are in neighbourhoods throughout the Lower Mainland, throughout British Columbia. And the way that RainCity operates this shelter is very much about safety for the community as well as for safety for the people that we provide housing and supports to.”
To that end, Hume said RainCity conducts sweeps for needles and other drug paraphernalia twice per day in Fox Park, as well as sweeps throughout the neighbourhood.
LISTEN: RainCity Housing responds to Port Coquitlam needle incident
Taylor said she has also been told that going forward, the city will be stepping up enforcement in the park and and that daycare workers will be raking the grass daily looking for any more drug paraphernalia.
“As it stands, one, I have to worry about the welfare of my kids,” she said.
“And, two, I am basically paying for childcare for these workers to go — and now they’ll have to deeply rake through the park every day instead of somebody policing it — and not looking after my kids, because they have to do that first.”
Debate over how to address discarded needles has been growing in recent months, as the region grapples with an opioid addiction epidemic.
In January, the City of Vancouver closed a homeless warming shelter at the Creekside Community Centre after a child found a needle in the facility’s washroom.
In March, a child in Maple Ridge was pricked with a discarded needle, while just last week a Kelowna six-year-old stepped on a needle which punctured their shoe.
Earlier this month, a pair of civic politicians with Vancouver’s Non Partisan Association proposed hiring more park rangers to provide a 24 hour a day presence in the city’s parks, partially to address the needle problem.
READ MORE: City of Victoria raises security after needle and syringe found taped to parkade handrail
In June, Vancouver also stepped up safety patrols at Andy Livingston Park, which is adjacent to the Downtown Eastside and has been a hotspot for discarded needles.
In July alone, 902 used needles were collected in the Downtown Eastside, while 367 were picked up in Andy Livingston Park alone.
In a statement to Global News, the City of Vancouver said it “has received 1,445 reports of discarded needles across the entire city for the period of January to August of this year, a 68 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2016 when 860 reports were made.”
People who find used needles can contact Vancouver Coastal Health’s needle-pickup hotline at 604-657-6561, or one of Fraser Health’s public health units.
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