A visitor to Melbourne has been left shocked after she called an ambulance and was told to get a taxi to hospital.

Karen phoned triple-0 at 6am after her partner developed extreme abdominal pains. She received a call back from a nurse 10 minutes later and was advised an ambulance was on its way to their CBD hotel.

But 20 minutes later, with no sign of paramedics, she rang back and was told “We’ve got a bit of ramping happening at the moment and it would be advisable if you can find another way to maybe do that”.

Press PLAY below to hear Karen telling Tony Jones what happened

Karen’s partner was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital by taxi and arrived at 7.45am, where she was immediately seen.