The latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report shows a record number of patients attended Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) emergency departments during the final quarter of 2025, while surgery activity was also high.

The Quarterly Report shows 60,075 of patients attended an emergency department in the District during the period, up 0.4 per cent (or 240 attendances) on the same quarter in 2024. 

The majority (74.2 per cent) of patients started treatment on time – an improvement of 6.4 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2024, and above the state average of 66.3 per cent.

Tweed Valley Hospital was the busiest hospital in the District, with 15,281 attendances in the quarter, an increase of 0.9 per cent (or 133 patients) compared to the same quarter the previous year, and the busiest quarter on record for the hospital. 

A total of 10,709 patients arrived at a NNSWLHD hospital via ambulance during the quarter – a rise of 5.2 per cent on the previous corresponding quarter, representing another record for the District. The percentage of patients transferred from ambulance paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark improved 3.7 percentage points to 82.4 per cent. 

Acuity levels were higher across the District for the quarter, with an increase in patients requiring triage 1 resuscitation (up 5.1 per cent), triage 2 emergency (up 7.8 per cent) and triage 3 urgent care (up 3.2 per cent). 

NNSWLHD Director of Clinical Operations, Lynne Weir, said the organisation continued to invest in strategies to improve the timeliness of care for patients presenting to Emergency Departments. 

“We’ve been focussing on a number of measures such as escalating patient flow, supporting additional bed capacity, and prioritising discharges across all clinical disciplines,” Ms Weir said.

“Some of these strategies include the patient flow discharge concierges, consistently reviewing emergency care assessment and treatment protocols, as well as implementing and supporting care pathways within the health system and in the community to reduce avoidable ED presentations, for example Urgent Care services and Hospital in the Home. 

“We welcome the opening of the District’s second Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, with the new Tweed Heads clinic opening in December 2025, following the opening of the Lismore clinic in November 2023. The clinics, which offer non-urgent care in a GP setting, will reduce the demand on our busy emergency departments, allowing our clinicians more time to care for patients with higher acuity needs.”

Lismore Base Hospital and Tweed Valley Hospital are now also rostering to Safe Staffing Levels in their emergency departments. Ballina District Hospital and Grafton Base Hospital are in the process of implementing Safe Staffing Levels in their emergency departments. 

The staffing boost enables the rostering of a one-to-one nursing care ratio for generally occupied ED resuscitation beds on all shifts, and one nurse to three generally occupied ED treatment spaces and ED short-stay unit beds on all shifts. 

All patients attending an ED are seen and triaged on arrival and, as always, the most seriously unwell patients are treated first. During busy times, people with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously 
unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.

Significant focus was placed on boosting surgery procedures during the October to December 2025 quarter, with 3,781 planned surgeries performed – an increase of 13.7 per cent or 455 surgeries. This resulted in a 9.1 per cent reduction in the number of patients awaiting surgery at the end of the quarter, when compared to December 2024. The vast majority (81 per cent) of elective surgeries were performed on time across the District. 

Importantly, 99 per cent of urgent surgeries were performed on time, a 7.3 percentage points improvement. 

Any patient who feels their condition may have deteriorated while waiting for their surgery is encouraged to contact their treating doctor who can review their condition and place them in a higher urgency category, if appropriate.

If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, people are encouraged to call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, and speak to a registered nurse, for 24-hour telephone health advice.

Individual hospital results 

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 5,020 ED attendances during the quarter, up three per cent. A total of 79.3 per cent of patients were discharged from the ED within four hours. More than eight in 10 patients (86.0 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. A total of 278 elective surgeries were completed, a 4.9 per cent (13 surgeries) increase on the end of December 2024.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL had 7,773 ED attendances during this quarter, an increase of 3.2 per cent on the same quarter last year. More than seven in 10 patients (76.9 per cent) were discharged from the ED within four hours. A total of 591 elective surgeries were completed, a marginal increase (0.2 per cent) on the same period in 2024, with 85.6 per cent of all surgeries performed on time, a 7.6 percentage points improvement.

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL had 11,171 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 5.9 per cent compared to the corresponding 2024 quarter, or 621 additional patients. A total of 3,448 patients arrived at the hospital via ambulance – up 11 per cent (or 343 arrivals) when compared with the same quarter in 2024. The majority of these patients (78.6 per cent) transferred from the ambulance to ED within the 30-minute benchmark, representing a 17.5 percentage points improvement on the same quarter the previous year. A total of 1,370 elective surgeries were completed, a 22 per cent (or 247 procedure) increase on the same period in 2024.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,766 ED attendances during the quarter, a decrease of 11.7 per cent or 629 fewer attendances when compared to the same quarter the previous year. More than nine in 10 (90.9 per cent) patients started their treatment on time, a 4.8 percentage points improvement on the same quarter in 2024. Further, 91.1 per cent of patients were discharged from the ED within four hours of arriving – the best result of any hospital of a similar size in NSW. Almost all patients (98.0 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. A total of 319 elective surgeries were completed, a 29.1 per cent (or 72 surgery) increase compared to the same period in 2024. The hospital performed 92.2 per cent of planned surgery on time, a 1.2 percentage points improvement on the corresponding quarter. All urgent surgeries (100 per cent) were performed on time. 

TWEED VALLEY HOSPITAL had 15,281 ED attendances during the quarter (a slight increase of 0.9 per cent on the previous year), and the highest on record. More than eight in 10 patients (80.8 per cent) started their treatment on time, significantly better than the average (62.4 per cent) for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. Almost eight in 10 (79.5 per cent) patients were discharged from the ED within four hours of arriving, while 80.0 per cent of patients were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. A total of 1,016 elective surgeries were completed, a 6.6 per cent (or 63 surgery) increase on the end of December in 2024.

ENDS.

Background:

The October to December 2025 Healthcare Quarterly report is the first report to incorporate the new 2025 NSW Hospital Peer Group changes. As a result, three hospitals in the Northern NSW Local Health District have been reclassified: Byron Central Hospital, Casino & District Memorial Hospital and Maclean District Hospital. 

All three hospitals have moved from C2 to D1 classification, meaning they are no longer reported individually in Healthcare Quarterly, but their results will continue to contribute to LHD, peer group and NSW-level results.

This statistical reclassification does not impact on funding or existing service levels.