“The offending screws had been removed and there was a system in place to minimise the risk to participants.”
However, on January 2, a 12-year-old boy smashed his front teeth on a joint connector inside the slide.
Mason Rusher suffered nerve damage, a chipped tooth, and was told he may suffer lifelong dental damage.
Mason’s mother, Tanya Rusher, told the Herald the family paid $289 at two emergency dental appointments after the accident.
She said that she was unimpressed by the response of pool staff whom she said “couldn’t have cared less”.
“At no point did anyone shut the slide in regards to blood or the tooth floating around,” Rusher said.
Mason Rusher was told he would have lifelong dental problems after smashing his teeth on a hydroslide at Mt Albert Aquatic Centre. Photo / Supplied
WorkSafe said, “We are now also aware of reported injuries to a 12-year-old boy on January 2.”
A spokesperson said the watchdog planned to revisit the Mt Albert pools this month to assess whether the facility’s health and safety systems were compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
“If further health and safety concerns are identified by the inspector during this assessment, further intervention may be required.”
Auckland Council and Community Leisure Management (CLM), which operates the pool on the council’s behalf, earlier acknowledged the distress Mason’s injuries caused to his family.
CLM director and general manager of operations Kirsty Knowles said staff followed the correct procedure when responding to the incident.
Knowles said improved signage around the slide would be installed within a week.
Auckland Council head of service partner delivery Garth Dawson said the slide had been inspected twice since August and that the council would work with the slide manufacturer and CLM to rectify any issues arising from the latest incident.