NSW Ambulance has apologised to a mother and father who were forced to drive their sick two-month-old baby to a Sydney hospital when there were no ambulances available.
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The child survived, with the incident prompting an investigation by the ambulance service.
The formal investigation will examine every aspect of the triple-0 call, the ambulance response, the advice given and any other contributing factors such as patient demand, Commissioner Ray Creen, Chief Executive of NSW Ambulance, said.
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner also apologised to the family over the incident.
"I am very sorry for the distress suffered by this family. NSW Ambulance has launched a formal investigation which will examine every aspect of this case, including the advice given by the Triple 0 call-taker," she said.
"NSW Ambulance has - via Sydney Children's Hospital staff - apologised to the family and undertaken to keep the family informed of the investigation. I am advised the investigation will be completed by Monday September 15."
The ABC reported on Tuesday night that the father was forced to drive his sick two-month-old baby and the baby's mother to a Sydney hospital in the back of the family car when there were no ambulances available and that when the family arrived there was a backlog of ambulances.
Last year Fairfax Media reported that ambulances were being forced to wait longer to discharge patients at NSW hospitals. The report by NSW auditor-general Peter Achterstraat found that ambulance crews were waiting an average of nearly 32 minutes to discharge patients into hospitals, up from 24 minutes seven years ago.
The report also said that while NSW Health had put in place initiatives to reduce the time ambulance crews have to wait at a hospital, only 65 per cent of ambulance crews handed over patients within 30 minutes of arriving, which was well below NSW Health's target of 90 per cent.
Documents leaked to the ABC and broadcast on Tuesday night reportedly show sick patients were left for hours on stretchers before being seen and admitted by hospital staff.
They reportedly reveal that a patient with chest pains who was "not alert" waited for over three hours before being admitted to Bankstown Hospital, according to the ABC.
Commissioner Creen apologised unreservedly for the distress caused to the family who had to drive their sick two-month-old to the hospital.
"We are liaising with hospital clinicians to determine the best time for us to visit the parents to offer our support and discuss their experience.
"The family can be assured that any necessary action will be taken and that they will be kept informed with the investigation process and its outcomes if they wish.
"I again extend our unreserved apologies to this family."
