A woman says she had to wait about 30 minutes for an ambulance from Rutherford to arrive at Cessnock after her younger sister appeared to have a seizure in a car outside a pub.
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Cessnock's only operational ambulance crew - there are two by day and one at night - was at another job.
The story comes after reports began to surface this week of a lack of resources for hardworking paramedics, with wait times in some cases being more than half an hour.
Rachael Francis, 24, said she was "absolutely filthy" about the situation in April, when Michaela took ill.
"Her friend came running down, screaming," Rachael said, speaking with her sister's permission.
"Everyone from inside the pub ran up and was just surrounding the car. Everyone wanted to help.
"We wanted to leave and take her to the hospital but pub management wouldn't let us just take her away."
The family later found out the 21-year-old had suffered a pseudo seizure - a condition related to post traumatic stress syndrome. It was the first time it had happened to her.
Ambulance NSW said earlier this week it prioritised life-threatening injuries and illnesses and "works to ensure the closest available paramedics respond to patients in the event of a medical emergency".
The NSW branch of the Australian Paramedics Association called for more resources than the 700 paramedics and support staff the state government announced last year.
Cessnock MP Clayton Barr said on Friday he believed the Coalfields needed two more ambulance crews to ease pressure on stretched paramedics.
"There are so many holes in the net," he said.
"I think that people are becoming more aware that when they finally get an ambulance it seems to be quite rarely coming from the local nearby ambulance station - it's often coming from another town or another suburb."
Mr Barr said the need for more on-duty crews was magnified by the distances paramedics were forced to cover in regional areas.
He also said many cases serious enough to require an ambulance could not be treated at Cessnock Hospital and paramedics commonly had to take patients out of town to either Maitland or John Hunter Hospital.
Those who have experienced delays in the Hunter have been posting their stories to social media this week in the hope of convincing the government to provide more resources for ambulance crews in the region.
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