"Not enough staff to properly give birth"

I gave birth to my lovely boy last first of April and, despite the fact that I've been induced at the hospital, they wasn't any midwife available so I had to wait 10 hours to go to the labour ward. Meanwhile, the head was already engaged (they only discovered that at the very last minute) so I couldn't get an epidural. I asked for it several time when I was there. I realised there was a problem when I said to the nurse that I felt the need to push with my contractions and they said 'hold it, it's too soon!!! (Like you can, really...) I had to walk to the labour ward, when I was obviously not able to. I still don't understand how the hospital managed so poorly my childbirth while the labour has begun while I was there.