A woman in her 50s died of a cardiac arrest hours after being sent home from Palmerston North Hospital

Open Justice reports the woman went to ED after two days of chest pain.

She had no history of heart problems -- but three siblings had suffered heart attacks around her age.

She was discharged after five hours of testing -- and died at home that night.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner, Deborah James, says the DHB breached the woman's right to an appropriate standard of service.

She says poor staff documentation - and practices in place - meant she had less assessment and fewer clinical investigations than appropriate.