Doctors at a leading Tasmanian hospital have issued an urgent call for help, warning patients are dying unnecessarily as the facility battles the worst bed-block in the country.

In a letter to Launceston General Hospital’s chief executive Eric Daniels, the emergency doctors write they can no longer stay silent about patient safety.

The Emergency Registrars Group say staff and patients are being put at risk because there is not enough space to assess patients properly.

Furthermore, opioids and other medications are being given in unmonitored areas, leading to delays in recognising adverse events, they say.