A Lower Hutt woman who is 34 weeks pregnant was knocked unconscious when she slipped and fell on her stomach, but an ambulance never arrived to help her.

Six calls were made to Wellington Free Ambulance as blood poured from her face and nose. After 45 minutes of waiting, her husband took her to hospital himself.

It comes after a recent plea from Wellington Free Ambulance for people to only call in times of emergency as the service struggles to cope with winter pressure.

Last month a Wellington man was found dead in his doorway six hours after calling an ambulance complaining of chest pains.

Earlier this week, Manpreet Randhawa was near Wellington Airport when he received a call his wife had been badly injured.

She was picking up her daughter from kindergarten when she fell over in the rain.

Randhawa turned his car around to rush back to Lower Hutt.

He rang 111 to check an ambulance was on the way, but the operator advised his wife would get a call from a nurse first as was the protocol.

After another call from the kindergarten advising his wife was experiencing worsening pain and bleeding, Randhawa called 111 again only to be told a nurse was still being arranged.

"I was panicked and I was angry as well - if something happens to the baby, who is going to be responsible for that?"

Eventually Randhawa arrived at the kindergarten and staff helped to get his wife in the car to take her to hospital, which he estimated was just 400m away.

He said he again rang emergency services to arrange for someone at the hospital to meet them when they arrived, but all that could be done was to cancel the ambulance job.

The couple then waited in the Emergency Department for hours to be assessed by a doctor.

Randhawa said he has lost trust in the system.

"Why should we call 111 if they are going to make us wait? These are the questions in my mind now. If something happens next time, what should I do?"

Randhawa estimated he and the kindergarten made six calls to 111 in total.

He said their baby was okay, but his wife was experiencing dizziness and severe pain in her nose, which was cracked.

A Wellington Free Ambulance spokesperson said due to privacy policies, they could not provide details on cases unless the person involved contacted them directly.

Randhawa confirmed he was yet to formally complain and had been focused on caring for his daughter and staying at the hospital late at night.

Speaking more generally, the spokesperson said all clinical desk staff were trained paramedics who could triage patients over the phone.

"This part of the service provides ongoing clinical support and reassurance as non-urgent cases wait for the ambulance crew to arrive on scene. If things are getting more serious, they will reassess the priority of the call."

Where possible, Wellington Free Ambulance endeavoured to keep patients informed about wait times.

"It is important to remember that each call we receive is part of the bigger picture of calls across a day or night, what our crews are currently attending, or calls that have come in that have a higher priority assigned, such as cardiac arrest."

They had to ensure they could respond to the most life-threatening situations immediately, the spokesperson said.

- Georgina Campbell and Sophie Trigger, NZ Herald