Hero bus driver rushes woman in labour to hospital
A 'hero' bus driver rushed a woman about to give birth to hospital late at night after she'd waited 75 minutes for an ambulance. Source: Archant Syndication.
Sajjad Shariff, 41, was driving the W15 down Grove Green Road, Leytonstone, east London, when frantic Fatim Faye, 44, waved him down at about 11pm.
Distraught Miss Faye had just left her house on the same road in a desperate bid to get help.
Mr Shariff said: "She was staggering towards the stop.
"So I stopped early rather than drive past her.
"She got on and said 'baby' and 'hospital' and was breathing quickly and heavily."
Sajjad called "code red" which alerts CentreComm, Transport for London's emergency control room, and requested an ambulance.
A couple of shocked passengers got off as the baby drama unfolded.
"I guess it's not everybody's cup of tea," said Mr Shariff.
But Good Samaritan Bee Cole, 27, of Leytonstone, stayed to help distressed Fatim and make her comfortable on the bus.
Mrs Cole said: "It was the least I could do.
"It just felt wrong to leave her.
"It was cold and not a very nice place to be about to have a baby."
Sajjad called code red again as there was no sign of an ambulance after half an hour.
He also called Miss Faye's partner, Deme Ndiogou.
Mr Ndiogou, 51, who lives with her, was working on the Strand but was by her side within 40 minutes.
Furious Mr Shariff decided they could wait no longer at 12.13am as the baby was threatening to come along.
He drove Miss Faye in his bus straight to the A&E at Whipps Cross Hospital just six bus stops away.
A receptionist ushered them through to a doctor but he couldn't help as they didn't have the facilities.
Increasingly agitated Miss Faye was forced to go to the maternity ward in the other block.
Mr Shariff backed out of the ambulance bay he'd parked in and went round the corner to maternity where she was rapidly attended to.
He said: "After that, me and Mrs Cole sat down and thought 'what has been going on?'"
Miss Faye gave birth to a baby girl at 1.45am and they are both doing well.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "The information initially given to our control room was that the patient was nine weeks pregnant.
"This was corrected during a second call at 11.20pm, when it was explained she was nine months pregnant.
"The patient's condition had not changed at this stage and she was fully conscious and breathing normally and was not categorised as being in a life-threatening condition.
"Unfortunately we did not have an ambulance available to send and were cancelled at 12.18am.
"We would like to apologise for any upset this may have been caused."
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