A Watford woman who gave birth in the back of an ambulance, claims her GP sent her home with antibiotics after mistaking her contractions for an infection.

Last Wednesday, Wilika Ladimeji, 29, of Grandfield Avenue, woke up with severe stomach pains.

Mrs Ladimeji, who was six months pregnant, feared for her baby and called her local GP’s surgery at about 9am to book an emergency appointment.

She claims she was told that despite her “agonising pain”, she would have to wait until 11.45am before an emergency doctor would see her.

As her husband Omat had already left for work, taking their car, she had to walk to Callowland Surgery in Leavesden Road, pushing her daughter Destiny, four, in her pushchair.

By the time she arrived at the surgery, five minutes late for her appointment, she says she was told by the receptionist she would have to wait for another available slot.

Mrs Ladimeji explained: “It took me longer to get to the surgery than I had thought as I had to keep stopping, I was doubling up in agony.

“When I arrived, I was rudely and coldly told I had missed my appointment and would have to wait.

“It was clear I was in pain. I was then told my buggy was too large for the waiting room and I would have to sit outside in the corridor.”

Mrs Ladimeji says she was in so much pain she was kneeling beside her chair, and other patients noticed she was in distress.

She says she had to wait about half an hour before the doctor would see her.

She said: “The doctor told me my belly was soft, so there was nothing to worry about.

“She then carried out a urine test and said I probably had an infection and should just take some antibiotics. She did not carry out an internal examination. This didn’t really explain the level of pain I was in, but you trust the doctor.”

Mrs Ladimeji picked up her antibiotics, returned home and took them.

At about 1pm, after taking a turn for the worse, she called an ambulance.

By the time she had arrived at Watford General Hospital, Mrs Ladimeji had gone into full labour.

She said: “I was giving birth in the back of an ambulance, without any drugs to ease the pain - other than antibiotics for a urine infection.

“Our baby, Lawrence, who is very small, was taken to Hammersmith hospital, where he could spend several months.

“My baby’s life and my life were put in jeopardy.”

Mr Ladimeji said he and his wife are so angry, they are in the process of complaining to the medical board, and are considering switching clinics.

He said: “My wife could have been forced to give birth at home, alone. Who knows what could have happened to them.

“People need to know about the way we were treated, to stop something like this from ever happening again.”

Callowland GP Partner, Dr Ineson, on behalf of the Surgery said:“We are very sorry to hear that the patient is unhappy with the service she received from Callowland Surgery, particularly as the treating doctor believes she provided the correct and appropriate treatment given the circumstances.

"We endeavour to provide the best possible care and service for all our patients, and we appreciate that this is a distressing time for Mrs Ladimeji and her family.

"However, we do not think it would be appropriate to address or discuss Mrs Ladimeji’s concerns in a public forum, even if she is happy for us to do so – we have a practice complaints system and would strongly urge Mrs Ladimeji to use this avenue to raise her concerns with us directly.”