Family search for answers after mum's sudden hospital death. Video / Michael Craig
Pamela Rasmussen, 40, died in Auckland Hospital’s Emergency Department last month.
She had tried three times to get admitted to various hospitals.
Her bereft family is seeking answers, questioning the care she received.
Police attended the sudden death and the case has been referred to the coroner.
The whānau of a mum of six who died suddenly in Auckland Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) last month wants to know how doctors got it so wrong.
Pamela Rasmussen, 40, (Ngāti Maniapoto), died in Auckland Hospital on May 13, 2025, four days after she had been diagnosed with tonsillitis atWaitakere Hospital, and following several visits to hospital EDs.
Health New Zealand (HNZ) said it could not comment on her death, as it was being investigated by the coroner, and would not say whether it would also conduct its own investigation.
Pamela’s symptoms began with a sore throat on May 9 and a visit to Waitakere ED complaining of breathlessness. She was admitted overnight, but by May 13 she was dead - from organ failure, according to whānau.
“They discharged her from Waitakere Hospital on May 10, saying it was tonsillitis, because [her tonsils] were inflamed,” Pamela’s younger sister Tamari Mose told the Herald.
Losi Rasmussen with his 2 eldest children, Heather (left) and Esther (right) and a photo of Pam. Photo / Michael Craig.
On May 11, Mother’s Day, Pamela - who was still in pain - spent the morning with her children and then returned to Waitākere Hospital.
She was then transferred to Auckland City Hospital for a throat endoscopy and doctors discharged her with medication on Monday afternoon, May 12.
On May 13, Pamela called an ambulance to rush her back to Auckland Hospital. She was not seen for two hours and sat in the emergency waiting room, her husband told the Herald.
When her husband Losi Rasmussen finally arrived at Auckland hospital, he said Pamela had still not been seen by health staff. The couple had been together more than 21 years and had six children.
“They called me at work and I rushed to the hospital. Pamela was still in the waiting room and I could see she was struggling to breathe,” Rasmussen told the Herald.
“Then a nurse came and took her blood pressure which was dropping. Pamela was rushed to a room and I went with her.”
The Emergency Department sign at Auckland Hospital.
Rasmussen said nurses and doctors were rushing around, and he saw Pamela “spewing” up blood into her oxygen mask.
“She waved to me to take off her mask because she couldn’t breathe,” Rasmussen said.
“I held her hand and squeezed it.”
I was taken out of the room and all I could hear was Pam’s screams. She was in pain. It was the last thing I ever heard from her.
Rasmussen said he was taken to an adjoining room while medical teams worked on Pamela.
“I was taken out of the room, and all I could hear was my wife’s screams. She was in pain. It was the last thing I ever heard from her.
“When I went back into the room, I could see the life had drained out of my wife,” Rasmussen said.
“A nurse tried to comfort me and said my wife was dying.
“I didn’t want anyone around me, so I asked the nurses to leave and I didn’t know whether to be sad or angry. I just sat there.
Mum of six Pamela Rasmussen died four days after going to hospital with a sore throat. She returned to hospital multiple times in an effort to get help.
Rasmussen is angry neither he nor the couple’s children had a chance to say goodbye to Pamela. “No one had a chance to say goodbye.”
The couple’s eldest daughter, Heather Rasmussen, said the whānau wants to know what happened.
“We want to know the truth about how Mum died. We don’t want other families to go through what we are.”
“Us older kids and dad are trying to be mum for my younger siblings.
“But they wake up in the night crying, wanting to know when mum is coming home.”
Pamela’s sister Tamari Mose said hospital staff told the whānau Pamela didn’t die from tonsillitis.
“It’s like they did minimal tests to get her out and didn’t look into it any further. Why wasn’t she chest X-rayed when she was brought back in on May 13? We have to wait for the coroner’s report for cause of death.”
Tamari Mose (right) with her older sister Pamela Rasmussen.
Mose said the family also insisted police be called, as they attend all sudden and or unexpected deaths.
“The police turned up but only because we queried about a sudden death. They were not going to offer – we had to ask for that,“ Mose said.
“The staff said, ‘Oh yeah, we will ring the police’, who came later that night and did an initial investigation.
“We found out police were not happy with the initial report and its findings, and that’s when we were told it was organ failure, not tonsillitis, that killed her.
“That’s why she had to have an autopsy.” The autopsy will help the coroner with their findings.
Mose said the whānau is trying to do as much as they can for Pamela’s children. Not making it to the hospital in time to say goodbye has left the whānau devastated.
“The three older ones [kids] they understand that she’s gone, but the three younger ones, they’re still like, ‘When is mom coming home? When is she coming back up from the ground?’”.
Police confirmed they attended a sudden death at Auckland City Hospital on May 13.
“Staff attended the emergency department at around 8pm after a 40-year-old West Auckland woman had died.
“The death was not considered suspicious and has been referred to the Coroner.”
Said a Health NZ spokesperson: “We extend our deepest sympathies to this family for their loss.
“As this matter is before the Coroner, is it not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
The Rasmussen family who lost their mum Pamela (back) suddenly. Her children Joshua (6), Pamela (7), Losiana (8), Serafina (15), Esther (20), and Heather (21) with dad Losi.
The family has created a Givealittle page to help provide support for Pamela’s children as they adjust to life without their mum.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
Joseph Los’e is an award-winning journalist and joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.
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