NEW YORK -- New York hospital officials said they are shocked by surveillance footage showing a woman falling from her chair in a hospital waiting area, writhing on the floor and dying as workers failed to help for more than an hour.

Esmin Green, a 49-year-old psychiatric patient, had been involuntarily committed the previous morning to the psychiatric unit at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and had waited nearly 24 hours for a bed.

After she fell to the floor at 5:32 a.m. on June 19, Green laid unattended for almost an hour before a nurse kicked her to see if she would respond, reported New York television station WNBC.

During that time, two hospital security guards apparently saw her but didn't do anything to help. The first walked by, and the second didn't rise from his chair until about 10 minutes later.

The tape shows a doctor walking by as well. He apparently looked at the woman but kept going.

The Brooklyn woman died on the floor, but not right away. The tape showed that she moved her legs and even rolled to her side, trying to get up.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., which runs the hospital, said six people have been fired as a result of the incident, including the doctor, the nurse and the two security guards shown on the tape.

HHC's president said everyone is "shocked and distressed" by the situation and promises a thorough investigation.

An HHC spokeswoman said the agency has also increased staff and training and agreed to monitor psychiatric patients every 15 minutes.

"It's an emergency room, it's not a bus terminal," said Attorney Robert Cohen, of Kirkland & Ellis. "People who are in desperate need of services, care and attention come here to be treated and to get better. They don't come here to die alone."

Tampered Medical Records?

Advocates for the mentally ill said the security video from June 19 showed why immediate reforms are needed at Kings County Hospital.

These advocates also claimed the woman's medical records were altered, reported WNBC.

While the videotape showed that she was on the floor at 6 a.m., the New York Civil Liberties Union said hospital records were filed stating that she was "awake, up and alert" at that time.

"We were absolutely appalled to get medical documentation kept in accordance with New York state law which was completely contradicted by video surveillance feeds," said Beth Haroules, staff counsel for the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Last year, a state agency sued Kings County Hospital, calling its psychiatric ward a "chamber of filth, decay, indifference and danger."

At the time, the city's Health and Hospitals Corp. refuted those claims. But now with the security video, city officials have launched an investigation into whether the woman's medical records had been altered.