A family's anger has turned to grief and mourning, with the death of an acutely ill elderly woman whose last days were marred by a threat to evict her from a hospital bed.

Elizabeth Rogers, 89, passed away at lunchtime on Friday having never recovered from a fall she suffered a fortnight earlier, when she tumbled out of bed at her low-care nursing home.

She was admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital's emergency department suffering compression fractures of the spine and spent the weekend there but was told on the Sunday night that the hospital could no longer accommodate her.

That evening hospital staff gave Mrs Rogers an eviction notice. Because Mrs Rogers was blind, the notice was read aloud to her in an open ward.

Although still in pain, she reluctantly returned to her nursing home the next day, only to be admitted to St Vincent's Hospital two days later, on August 12. She died there on Friday, surrounded by family, having spent another nine days in hospital.

Son-in-law John Craven said: "She deteriorated rapidly after being exited from the Prince of Wales Hospital ... I don't know how related it was to her experience there but the end came very quickly."

Mr Craven said he and wife Tanya, Mrs Rogers' daughter, had nothing but praise for the care his mother-in-law had received at St Vincent's after readmission mid-week.

But he said they were still upset by what had occurred at Prince of Wales and the humiliation Mrs Rogers had suffered.

The head of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Gerry Marr, has apologised to the family. He has admitted that use of an eviction letter under such circumstances was not "acceptable practice" and said an investigation was under way.

In a statement on Friday, he said :"South Eastern Sydney Local Health District South Eastern Sydney Local Health District wishes to offer its sincere condolences to the family of Mrs Elizabeth Rogers for their tragic loss. An investigation into the patient's discharge from Prince of Wales Hospital is ongoing. The outcomes of the investigation will be conveyed to the family."

Lynda Saltarelli​ of the advocacy group Aged Care Crisis said hospitals sometimes applied immense pressure on the elderly to leave, in order to free up beds.

Mrs Rogers trained as a doctor and worked in general practice and as a government medical officer for many years before loss of sight forced her retirement.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, and by a nine-year-old granddaughter.