Middlemore Hospital says the demand for its services is "abnormally high", far beyond pre-Covid levels and the hospital is "under extreme pressure".
Middlemore Hospital (file photo). Photo:
It was responding to questions over the death of a patient in its emergency department who was waiting for treatment.
The hospital said the patient left the ED early on Wednesday morning, only to return a few hours later after a life threatening emergency.
The patient died in intensive care on Thursday night.
In a statement, acting chief executive Dr Pete Watson said Middlemore was "under extreme pressure".
"Week on week we are experiencing an increase of patient presentations from previous years, and the volume of patients we are seeing is significantly higher than 2019, pre Covid, at 17 percent or 400 additional patients per week."
He said the hospital was trying to manage rising waiting times in its emergency department