An Auckland boy is facing lifelong dental problems after smashing his front teeth on a bolt inside a hydroslide.
Te Atatū mother Tanya Rusher said her son Mason, 12, was left in a state of shock after the agonising episode at Mt Albert Aquatic Centre on January 2.
Pool operator Community Leisure Management and Auckland Council acknowledged the distress caused by the incident and said steps had been taken to better inform the public of the risks of using the slide.
The incident occurred days after the slide was closed for a WorkSafe inspection, after a man lost his finger when his wedding ring caught on a bolt at the slide’s entrance.
Rusher said the family of four had spent the afternoon eating ice cream at Mission Bay and decided to go for a swim later in the evening, believing the pool would be less crowded.
“Mason was going down the hydroslide when, just before the dark part of the tunnel, his head got thrown around and he knocked his front teeth on the inside joiners of the slide, which broke one in half,” she said.
“He was in pain and scared, he was freaking out”.
An emergency dental visit the next day revealed the extent of the damage.
“He had a temporary cover put over his chipped tooth, some of the pulp was exposed, his left tooth is possibly dying, which they may still have to fix as well,” Rusher said.
“He hit the nerve on that left tooth, which we are waiting on a specialist to see, and could be problematic the rest of his life.”
The family paid $289 for two dental appointments, with Mason’s damaged tooth “covered under ACC for life”.
“I understand pools are busy and that they may have been understaffed,” Rusher said.
“But if that’s the case, at least have some dignity and have somewhere you can take the patient, calm them down and offer support.”
Rusher said she reported the incident to pool staff.
She said staff attended to Mason in the cafeteria area, in full view of other customers and offered only an ice pack for his mouth.
Rusher said she had Panadol in the car, which helped manage his pain.
“At no point did anyone shut the slide in regards to blood or the tooth floating around,” she said.
Rusher also claimed staff did not know how to access an incident report form and instead asked her to write her contact details on scrap paper, promising a call back.
She said the pool manager rang the following week to say an incident report was being completed, but she said she still had not received a copy nor heard back from the pool.
“My son was very embarrassed that day and as a parent I really felt more could have been done, they couldn’t have cared less.
“The fact they rang me that night asking for their ice pack back enraged me, not even a ‘Hello, is your son doing okay?’”
Community Leisure Management (CLM), which operates the pool on behalf of Auckland Council, accepted its response to Rusher took too long and said the matter had been followed up with staff.
CLM director and general manager of operations Kirsty Knowles said staff were trained and followed correct procedures when responding to the incident, noting “it is normal practice for our staff to apply first aid in the foyer, reception area or at poolside as the facility has no dedicated first-aid room”.
Knowles said CLM was sorry Mason was injured while using the slide, and said it was improving signage around the slide and would have these installed within the next week.
Auckland Council head of service partner delivery Garth Dawson said the council acknowledged “the distress this experience has caused to Mason and his family”.
He said the slide had been inspected twice since August, adding: “If this incident indicates that there is an issue with the slide itself, or the operating procedures beyond what we’ve already identified, we will work closely with the slide manufacturer and CLM on any further steps.”
In 2024, a toddler had to be rescued after he was found unconscious at the bottom of the pool.
The incident followed an audit that found several lifeguards had expired Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificates, with fewer than half presenting first aid qualifications.