• Auckland parents Steve and Breanne Smith say 111 calls to the ambulance service went unanswered as their infant choked.
• They performed CPR and dislodged the food before police helped get an ambulance.
• The Smiths urge better ambulance funding, stressing the importance of learning infant CPR.

A young Auckland family say their frantic calls to the 111 ambulance service went unanswered as their infant turned blue while choking on his dinner.

The parents are angry and upset, and believe the ordeal last night almost cost them their seven-month-old son. They are calling on the Government to properly fund ambulance services before someone’s child dies.

Hato Hone St John said it was not aware of any technical issues with the calling system last night and it needs time to investigate the claims.

About 5pm yesterday, Patumāhoe residents Steve and Breanne Smith were feeding their son Reef mashed avocado, a typical meal for the baby.

“We noticed that he started to get a bit red and that he was struggling to swallow... then it just got worse and worse,” Steve told the Herald.

Breanne yelled “he’s turning blue” before pulling their baby from the high chair and striking his back in an attempt to dislodge the food.

When this did not work, she lay him on the ground and started CPR while Steve called 111.

Steve said he called twice. Both times a 111 operator answered the call and transferred him to the ambulance call centre. But each time the phone just rang and no one answered the call.

“By the second time I started yelling,” Steve said.

“My kid is f***ing dying, I need an ambulance now.”

Seven-month-old Reef Smith’s parents say he was given the all-clear at the hospital after the ordeal. Photo / Breanne Smith

The parents gave up on the ambulance and called a neighbouring nurse before Steve got in contact with police.

He said police were able to get an ambulance to their home but at that stage his wife had successfully dislodged the food and Reef started to “come to”.

Reef was taken to hospital to have his lungs checked for food and was given the all-clear to return home later that night.

Reef was born with oesophageal atresia, a birth defect that means the two separate parts of the oesophagus do not join together correctly. He had an operation as a newborn to correct the issue.

Steve and Breanne Smith say they have been left shaken after watching their son choke. Photo / Breanne Smith.

Steve said he and Breanne were left shaken by the experience.

“If I hadn’t been trained in infant CPR there may have been a not-so-nice outcome,” Breanne said.

Both parents stressed the importance of learning infant CPR and said they were not upset at the frontline staff.

“We know it’s not their fault, we know they are underfunded,” Steve said.

“But [the Government] has to start funding this better, someone is going to end up dead.”

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that an ambulance attended the family’s home last night.

“We are not aware of any technical faults in relation to 111 calls last night but we will need some time to investigate. In the meantime, we would encourage the family to contact us so we can discuss it with them directly.”