Girl pricked by needle in Broome’s Roebuck Primary School playground

A child has been pricked by a needle found in the playground of a Broome primary school amid residents’ complaints of an alarming increase in the number of needles being discarded across the tourist town.

The Nightly has confirmed an eight-year-old girl from Roebuck Primary School was jabbed on Tuesday when she picked up a needle she saw on the ground.

Parents of kids at Roebuck PS received a note telling them that a needle and syringe had been discovered by students on school grounds.

“The parents of these students have been contacted and classroom teachers will speak to our students tomorrow about not touching anything they find on the grounds and instead report it to a duty teacher,” the message said.

“We will continue to be vigilant in keeping the grounds secure and safe.”

Locals have been complaining for months of a growing problem with used needles being discarded in Broome’s streets, beaches and parks.

Shire of Broome president Chris Mitchell said he was shocked to hear a young student had received a needle-point injury at school, but believed it was sadly inevitable.

He said council staff regularly found discarded needles in public places — and the problem was getting worse.

“People are discarding needles in garden beds, playgrounds and all sorts of places around Broome,” he said.

“It used to be a couple of usual spots, but it is spreading to places where you wouldn’t think illicit drug taking would take place.”

Cr Mitchell called on the Health Department to do more to prevent needles being dumped, or to reduce people’s risk of being hurt.

“While needles come with hard plastic sheaths in which to place the used syringe, it is obvious that this isn’t being done enough,” he said.

“The Shire has requested the health department provide single-use retractable needles which have a spring that lets the needle withdraw back into the syringe to prevent the risk of a needle-point injury.”

A Health Department spokesperson said its needle and syringe program aimed to prevent people injecting drugs from getting blood-borne viruses.

“It is a requirement that all needles and syringes distributed in WA are provided with a safe disposal container,” the spokesperson said.

“Pre-packaged needle and syringe packs include a disposal receptacle and are labelled with safe disposal information.

“Our Healthy WA website has information for community members on what to do if they find a needle or syringe in the community.”

Broome resident Natalie Kennedy has been posting images on social media of needles she has collected from around Broome in the past week.

She claimed to have picked up 39 needles in just seven days, including 19 from the same 700m stretch which includes the boundary of Broome Primary School.

“We’ve been walking old Broome for years and just recently, in the last couple of months, we’ve started to see a significant increase in the number that we’re finding,” she said. “Every single day we find a fresh needle.”

Ms Kennedy, who has two children aged six months and nine years old, said she was concerned a child would be hurt.

“It’s a bit scary,” she said. “The kiss and drop zone for the (Broome) primary school is opposite the emergency department where they hand needles out.”