A MOTHER was forced to give birth at home – because a midwife was not allowed to cross the borough boundary to take her to hospital.
Emma Clark gave birth to Oscar on December 28 at her house in Limpsfield Road, Sanderstead.
She was booked in to have the baby at the Princess Royal University Hospital, in Farnborough, but went into labour very quickly and called an ambulance.
"It was very unexpected to have my first baby at home," she said. "I called the hospital when my labour started and they said give it another hour.
"Then we rang again 40 minutes later when my labour was getting stronger and they told me to call an ambulance.
"They arrived pretty quickly but were told by Princess Royal not to move me without a midwife there."
However, as much as they waited, the midwife never arrived.
Mrs Clark, 26, said: "There was some sort of mix-up in the communication. The paramedics kept calling and being told the midwife was only ten minutes away.
"But this happened for two hours and eventually the paramedics had to help deliver the baby at home."
A midwife – from Croydon University Hospital rather than Princess Royal – eventually came half an hour after Oscar was born.
"I was so shocked at the time that everything happened so fast and I didn't understand why I couldn't go to hospital. I chose Princess Royal because my husband was born there and we'd had all our appointments there.
"But actually it was quite nice as nothing went wrong and it turned out to be OK.
"It's not something you think would happen though."
Mrs Clark and her husband James have tried to find out what went wrong and were told later that one of the paramedics filed a complaint about the mix-up.
A spokesman from Princess Royal said: "We welcome women from across Bromley and neighbouring boroughs to give birth at the Princess Royal University Hospital.
"As is the case across the country, our midwives can only travel to women within the borough or boroughs where the hospital is responsible for providing services.
"This helps to ensure there are enough midwives in each geographical area to safely care for patients.
"Most women make it to hospital in time, but sometimes the birth can be quicker than anticipated.
"If a woman requires immediate midwifery care, it is the responsibility of a hospital within the home borough to provide that service."
