The Government's being accused of turning a blind eye to the swamping of public hospitals.

Just this week, Auckland's Middlemore Hospital was pushed to operate beyond its maximum capacity.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists CEO Ian Powell said the Government needs to be proactive in addressing an entrenched shortage of specialists in public hospitals.

He said the shortage, and excessive hours for staff, have become the norm.

"If we were to invest more in recruiting more hospital specialists, we could cope with these pressures, and we could actually also improve clinical and financial efficiency as well."

He said the only way hospitals can cope is by making staff work longer hours.

"Many hospital specialists work well in excess of the hours they're employed for, and they do it as a matter of routine."

"These sort of pressures mean they have to increase those already overstretched hours."