A FAMILY who waited more than 45 minutes for an ambulance were told their five-month-old baby could have died had he been left any longer.

After finding her son Ben unresponsive in his cot last Tuesday (October 21), Gemma McKenzie called non-emergency number 111 and was told a paramedic would be dispatched.

After rushing home from work, her husband David called again half an hour later and was repeatedly asked if their son was conscious, despite the call handler being told that – although his eyes were open – he was completely unresponsive.

Following a 45-minute wait, Ben’s parents gave up and sped him to hospital where he was rushed to the children’s ward and treated for a potentially fatal blood infection.

Mr McKenzie said: “It’s partly our fault as we didn’t call 999 but there should have been a quicker response with a five-month-old child involved.

“The delay added to the stress and made us panic, especially trying to explain what was wrong when the woman was obviously asking questions off a computer.

“We thought the whole process was long winded when it was an emergency.

“I’d kicked off at the person and in the end I’d put the phone down and taken him in the car.

“As soon as he got to hospital, he was surrounded by doctors and wired up with an oxygen mask on – it was awful and the doctor said if we’d waited for the ambulance, he could have been dead within ten minutes.

“He was very unwell – his heart rate was up, his temperature was 39 degrees and we were told he was lucky to be alive.”

After treatment for a blood infection, Ben is now at home recovering from his ordeal.

His parents have decided not to pursue an official complaint, saying they don’t want anyone losing their job as a result.

Mr McKenzie said: “We don’t want to get anyone in trouble because we phoned 111 instead of 999, which would have probably sent an ambulance quicker.

“They were fantastic once we were at the hospital and bent over backwards to help Ben – they saved his life and we’re over the moon with that.”

A spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said: “We have begun an investigation into whether this call was conducted correctly.

“It would be wrong to comment further until that investigation has reached a conclusion.”