Eight-year-old Fletcher had stepped off his school bus on May 11 into the path of a car and according to Stacey, "he went onto the bonnet".

"I was there for only two minutes before an ambulance officer told me he had to be taken to Port Macquarie Hospital for treatment," Stacey said.

"I was shocked, my mind was racing, why Port Macquarie, what's wrong, why the lights, what's going on, why can't we go to Manning Hospital?"

"The ambulance officer was wonderful and explained that we had to go to Port Macquarie because of the equipment."

"It's hard to believe his injuries were only superficial. Skin off his right side, a graze and a lump on his head, a bruise on his leg, a sore toe, his hip was slightly swollen and skin off his knee. He was so lucky."

After the 80 kilometre drive north to Port Macquarie Base Hospital Stacey said medical staff gave Fletcher a "very thorough physical exam, no cat scan, the only thing they did was give him an ultrasound".

"When I realised what had been done, I felt a little bit confused. Why did we have to go to Port Macquarie for that? The trip, the wondering as to what else could be wrong, the experience of being away from family and support absolutely added to the trauma.

"If we had been taken to Manning Hospital my husband could have been there, all of our family is in Taree.

"I work with vulnerable families in our community. We are a resilient family but I know there are so many families that would struggle to manage this experience.

"My husband was able to drive to Port Macquarie with our other two children to collect us at 8.30pm. But what if this happened to a family that had no transport, or unreliable transport, or no family or support networks? How would they get to Port Macquarie to collect someone? It would also impact on their finances. This is the reality for many people and it is important people advocate for them".

Stacey said a "foolish false sense of security" prompted them to make the decision to let their ambulance cover lapse and now they expected to be "footing an incredibly hefty ambulance fee that could have been avoided had our hospital been equipped appropriately".

"This is a first world country and we have a large population. It's disgusting and it has to change".

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ainslee.dennis@fairfaxmedia.com.au