Shropshire paramedics banned a mother from travelling to hospital with her pregnant teenage daughter, claiming they were too heavy to carry. Nicola Brown, 17, of Far Garden Place, Ditherington, Shrewsbury, is six months pregnant with her first child and was experiencing pains. She thought she might be going into labour.
An ambulance was called to take her to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
But when it arrived her mother Tracy, 41(pictured with Nicola), was forbidden to travel with her daughter, due to “weight issues”.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has today confirmed some ambulances in its fleet are in excess of their maximum permitted weight carrying capacity, forcing them to limit the number of people on board.
Miss Brown was left on her own for 45 minutes until her father Les, 55, could drive her mother to the hospital. She said: “Mum was all ready to go in the ambulance but the man said there had been a big row about weight issues in the ambulances. I could have been left to have my baby on my own without my family.
“I was scared because I was on my own and did not know what was going on. If my mum was there, she would have been reassuring.
“I have put on three stone while pregnant. We are both overweight but not to the extreme where the ambulance could not take us both.”
Mr Brown was furious at the way his daughter was treated after the incident on August 23.
He said: “If my daughter had been in labour, she would have been there on her own. Her mother was very upset about it. She was very concerned as it’s the first grandchild.”
Daphne Lewis, spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said after routine maintenance it was discovered some vehicles were marginally over their permitted 3.5 ton capacity after equipment was added.
To comply with legislation, the service has been forced to limit carrying patients’ relatives but the problem is receiving immediate attention from engineers.
She said: “We fully accept this situation is not ideal for our patients or their relatives. It is a short-term problem and we are taking every possible measure to ensure we return to a normal service as quickly as possible.”
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