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Young boy under year-long medical surveillance after stepping on a syringe on beach An eight-year-old boy is to be monitored by doctors for 12 months after he unwittingly stepped on a used syringe while on the Esmoriz beach, in Ovar, last week. The needle had been discarded on a part of the beach that is made up of rented beach huts privately managed by a concessionary company, according to the head of the Paços de Brandão Social Centre. The boy was a member of a 75-strong group of children aged between three and 12 who go to the beach every day as part of summer activities organised by the Social Centre. Ten of the beach huts are rented out by the institution from the company Pé N’Areia specifically for the children. Carlos Neves, President of the Centro Social de Paços de Brandão, Feira, told Lusa News Agency the child would be “under medical surveillance for one year”, and believes it is “inadmissible that a situation like this” could occur “on a beach that has a ‘Blue Flag’, where you pay to enjoy certain facilities, and there in no one to ensure the health and safety of the service”. “Those huts must be being used by people who go there at night to inject themselves and there is no one to stop that from happening or check the state of the huts in the morning, before people arrive at the beach”, he stressed. “There are so many rules to be complied with regarding buses and child seats [used to transport children to and from the beach], and then on the beach there is no safety whatsoever or anyone to be held responsible for it”. Carlos Neves further revealed that at the time of the incident, 09h30 last Thursday, there was also “no lifeguard on duty” on a stretch of beach which, as well as being awarded a Blue Flag, is a ‘protected’ beach. Because of this it was the Social Centre monitors who gave the child first aid, after he stepped on the syringe. He was later taken by the local fire brigade to the Hospital de S. Sebastião, in Feira, where he gave blood samples for testing and had the wound on his heel treated. No abnormalities were found following initial blood tests, though as certain diseases take longer to manifest, the boy will remain under medical observation for a year, until considered ‘out of danger’. Carlos Neves stressed “We need to alert the authorities as to this issue, because situations of this severity cannot be repeated”. Nelson Gomes, manager of Pé N’Areia, told Lusa he “was sorry” about the occurrence but “it could have happened to anyone”. “We clean the beach every morning and once a week the town hall cleans it as well, with tractors”, he explained, adding “We also have surveillance at night, so no one vandalises the huts, but it is not possible to control everything as it is a very large area, of 100 metres [in length]”. Nelson Gomes stressed that on Praia de Esmoriz “in 30 years there has never been a problem” and that people on the sand should be aware that “even a nail” can cause injuries. “The sea itself washes things on to the sand and you never know what it can bring”, he said.
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