Mt Albert pool near-drowning: Family of boy found unconscious at Auckland pool thanks doctor for saving their boy

The family of a boy found unconscious at the bottom of a pool at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre wants to meet and thank the member of the public who pulled the boy from the water and the doctor who resuscitated him.

The father of the preschooler described the actions of Auckland doctor Joe Hancock and the man who pulled the little boy from the water as “heroic”.

He wanted to speak to both men and thank them personally for the role they played in saving his son’s life.

The father contacted the Herald after an article revealed safety concerns at the pool facility.

The boy’s father said he had been told it was lifeguards who pulled his son from the water and resuscitated him.

“We never knew of the hero person who found him under the water and the hero doctor,” he said.

“Without the intervention of the hero doctor it would’ve been a different outcome.”

Hancock stepped in when he saw a lifeguard performing chest compressions, despite food in the boy’s mouth obstructing his breathing.

A witness supported this saying she was relieved the doctor “took over” because “it seemed the lifeguards had no idea what they were doing”.

Another witness revealed it was a “man wearing speedos” and not a lifeguard who pulled the unconscious boy from the water.

The boy’s father said the past week had been “extremely difficult” but their son was recovering well and was now home with them.

The day of the incident his wife had taken their son to the pools and was putting a bag in a locker when the boy walked over to the pool and she lost sight of him.

“The second she realised she was distressed and looked for the attention of lifeguards and people around her to help find him,” the father said.

“Of course, we were the first people to blame ourselves for such negligence, however, this is the time we expected the pool staff to be trained enough and the emergency procedures to be adhered to.”

A doctor who resuscitated a boy at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre has called for an urgent review of safety at the facility. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Witnesses said lifeguards were distracted and “slow to act” - even after the boy’s panicked mother raised the alarm.

One woman said one lifeguard was on his phone and wearing headphones and another two were talking.

Hancock said there needed to be an urgent review of first aid procedures and overall safety at the pools.

“This particular incident requires proper considered investigation and the overall pool operation clearly needs an urgent review,” Hancock said.

“In my opinion changes are required immediately.”

The father of the boy would like to thank the member of the public who pulled his son from the water at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre.

Belgravia Leisure, which runs the facility on behalf of Auckland Council, said there would be a “thorough review of the sequence of events to better understand the incident and the venue will work through the consideration of implementing any safety recommendations”.

Earlier this week a spokeswoman for the Australian-owned company stood by the previous statement and said all lifeguards were fully trained and “confident to perform their roles.

“We can confirm that the venue’s fully-trained lifeguards administered immediate care and performed life-saving first aid, whereby the child was breathing prior to the emergency services arriving on site,” the spokeswoman had said in a statement.

“We appreciate the additional support provided to the lifeguards performing first aid on the young boy by a doctor who was present at the aquatic centre at the time.”

Auckland Council principal pools and leisure specialist Garth Dawson said he would follow up the incident with Belgravia Leisure.

“If there are some discrepancies in that briefing or the initial information that we received, we will need to take that up with our operator,” he said.

“We expect to receive an update on Belgravia’s investigation of the incident where more clarity around the incident, in its entirety, will be presented.”

Worksafe was making initial enquiries into the incident before deciding whether to launch an investigation.

Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and consumer affairs.