An irate husband yesterday criticised inflexible emergency procedures after his pregnant wife was taken by ambulance to a public hospital with no maternity ward.
The husband said his wife risked losing the baby because of the 20 minutes she spent at Tseung Kwan O hospital before being transferred to the United Christian Hospital where she was booked for delivery.
Tam rang the emergency services on June 2 after his wife's water broke prematurely.
When the ambulancemen arrived they said they had to take her to the nearest hospital, which was Tseung Kwan O.
The couple insisted they go to the United Christian Hospital, but the ambulance crew refused.
'They did some meaningless checks [at Tseung Kwan O] and redirected us to United Christian Hospital, causing a delay of more than 20 minutes,' the husband said. 'I have nothing against the ambulancemen and hospital staff who did the best they could. It was a problem with the instructions they were given.'