Police have named the mental health patient who died after allegedly being assaulted by a man in a Rotorua Hospital psychiatric ward earlier this week.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper said 51-year-old Moira Albert, of Rotorua, was assaulted by a man in the in-patient unit of the Rotorua Lakes District Health Unit on Thursday afternoon.
She was taken to the intensive care unit and placed on life support but she died yesterday afternoon.
A post mortem examination would be completed in Auckland today to confirm the cause of death, Mr Loper said.
A 41-year-old Rotorua man has been charged with murder and will appear in court today.
Police expect him to be remanded without plea for seven to 10 days.
The health board's acting general manager clinical services, Cathy Taylor, said staff had begun its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"The internal investigation underway is in line with Lakes District Health Board policy for investigating incidents of a serious nature."
The thoughts of staff were with "both the families during these difficult times", she said in a statement.
- NZPA
Woman dies after hospital assault
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