Last year, a Fijian man who sustained a brain injury, stayed over two months in the hospital's high dependency unit, amassing a $73,772 bill.
This year, a South African woman with chest pain, a Chilean man with stomach pain, a Filipino man with a chest infection and a young, pregnant South African woman also with a chest infection were admitted to the emergency department, racking up over $5000 in costs.
The cost of emergency care, hospital stays, 24-hour special care, acute assessment unit admissions and laboratory tests made up the bills.
In the last financial year, two non-New Zealand residents who incurred hospital bills have left the country, leaving $2300 unpaid.
The board encourages patients to pay their accounts off by weekly instalments. It also works with Immigration NZ and debt collection agencies.