There are question marks hanging over Waikato Hospital's continuously congested emergency department with ambulances again forced to wait with sick patients.
St John had to declare what they describe as a "major incident" on Monday night, caused by delays in transferring patients to the hospital.
Te Whatu Ora confirmed its emergency department was at 103 percent occupancy at the time with a total 143 patients, one of the busiest periods it has experienced.
This is the second instance this month in which the hospital's pinched ED department has resulted in formal notices being issued.
New Zealand chair of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Dr Kate Allan spoke to Corin Dann.
