Hospital ED nurses declare ‘state of emergency’ after patients left in soiled beds

Nurses at Auckland’s North Shore Hospital have declared a “state of emergency”, saying chronic understaffing and severe overcrowding are putting patients at risk and leaving some waiting more than 50 hours in the emergency department.

RNZ23 Aug, 2026 06:08 PM4 mins to readNurses say conditions at North Shore Hospital's emergency department are undignified. Photo / Alex Burton (file)Nurses say conditions at North Shore Hospital's emergency department are undignified. Photo / Alex Burton (file)By Rowan Quinn of RNZPatients are waiting in soiled beds a

Emergency department nurses say Health NZ had failed to plan properly for winter, and conditions are increasingly "feral".

A local physicians group is pushing for a new amalgamated central Algoma hospital as 60 to 70 per cent of Ontario's ER closures stem from two aging North Shore Health Network sites.