The family of a man who died while waiting to have a leg injury looked at in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital, believe his death was preventable

Eighty-two year-old Tony Knott collapsed and died in the toilet of the waiting room in April 2021 - after waiting several hours to be transferred there from North Shore Hospital.

His wife, Lynne, says it was the worst day of her life.

She thought it was just a procedure they were going through - and eventually he'd admitted to a bed, and be home in a few days.

The coroner found his cause of death was hypertensive heart disease -- but determined the multiple delays he faced were relevant to the circumstances of his death.