A paramedic will have to apologise to a couple after she failed to tell them they should not take themselves to the hospital and should instead wait for an ambulance.

The woman had woken up in the early hours and discovered she was bleeding heavily from the site of a recent Caesarean section wound.

There was a pool of blood in the bed and her pyjamas were soaked with blood.

The woman's husband called 111 and a not life-threatening response code was generated. The paramedic then called the husband.

The deputy Health and Disability Commissioner has criticised the paramedic for not upgrading the response code and because she did not instruct the man to apply pressure to the wound.

The husband told the paramedic they intended to head to the hospital. The commissioner said the paramedic should have told him firmly to wait for an ambulance.

The commissioner has recommended the paramedic provide a written apology to the family and undertake training.