An Auckland man says he waited at least seven hours at Middlemore Hospital among hundreds of patients in an overcrowded waiting room. He described seeing people sleeping on the floor and a bleeding pregnant woman waiting for hours. The 39-year-old praised the overworked hospital staff as “absolutely phenomenal”.
An Auckland man who waited nearly seven hours in Middlemore Hospital A&E department says he witnessed people sleeping on floors and patients walking out with medical tubes attached to their arms. The 39-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald he arrived at the hospital complaining of chest pains around 4.15pm and was met with a queue from inside the department to the undercover area outside.
“ I was triaged within 35 minutes , and because I had chest pains, they moved me right to the front. I got some x-rays and then I sat there for six and a half hours watching people who had been there longer than I had,” he said. During the long wait, the man had to keep getting up and down because there were not enough chairs in the waiting room.
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