Serious mental health patients at North Shore Hospital are sometimes stranded for days in the emergency department because there is no space to admit them.
The situation in the ED has prompted staff to make a formal health and safety complaint, outlining instances where staff and patients are unsafe.
Their report also covers situations where patients who should be on heart monitors are not and says nurses are so worried they'll miss a patient deteriorating they're not sleeping.
Health correspondent Rowan Quinn spoke to Māni Dunlop.
