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A Timaru mother says her daughters could have died when emergency services failed to respond to a 111 call a neighbour made as the girls were being attacked by thousands of wasps.
Kara Hayes told the Herald last night she was in "a state of disbelief" following the terrifying wasp attack, which landed her and oldest daughter Tia, with 159 stings, in hospital.
Mrs Hayes said her two daughters were playing with friends behind their house when they accidentally disturbed a wasp nest last Friday night.
"My husband saw our youngest daughter flailing her arms about and we saw thousands of wasps just everywhere," said Mrs Hayes.
"They covered our heads and our backs - my husband had to rip the children's clothes off them as he tried to fight them off."
Mrs Hayes ran to her neighbour's house and told her to call 111.
But her neighbour was unsure which emergency service was needed.
"She rang the call centre, who immediately put her through to police, who said it was a matter for the council and not an emergency," said Mrs Hayes.
Mr Hayes had to take his children and wife to hospital when it became apparent an ambulance was not coming.
Mrs Hayes, who suffered dozens of stings and had to remove several from her head and neck, needed three doses of morphine.
"My daughter cried all night and we didn't get any sleep until she was given morphine the next day."
She said the girls were now recovering well although they were "a bit itchy".
Telecom spokeswoman Sarah Berry said operators who took 111 calls were more like a "filter" for the necessary emergency services.
She said because it was unclear at the time which particular service was required, the call was put through to the police.
"The most important thing is that this call was put through to the police within a matter of seconds and was always treated as an emergency," said Ms Berry.
The wasp attack follows an incident in Masterton last month when Mary Everitt, 87, lay helpless in her garden for about 30 minutes as she was repeatedly stung by wasps.
Firefighters wearing protective clothing rescued her.
In 2005, Louis Boonen died at his Muriwai home while waiting for an ambulance after he was stung by a bee.
A St John medical adviser acknowledged that Mr Boonen may have lived had he not waited for the ambulance.
