Southern NSW Local Health District is among the state’s top performers for emergency department and planned surgery performance, despite a high number of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions presenting for care in during the April to June quarter 2025.
Chief Executive Margaret Bennett said the latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report for April to June 2025 shows the District consistently provides timely, high-quality care.
“This latest report shows our District was among the state’s top performers for key ED indicators including the percentage of patients starting their treatment on time,” Ms Bennett said.
SNSWLHD Executive Margaret Bennett Once again, our staff have gone above and beyond to make sure patients are seen quickly and cared for safely. These results show that even when demand is high, people living in Southern NSW Local Health District can rely on our hospitals to deliver high quality care.
Margaret Bennett
The District performed 1,385 planned surgeries in the April to June 2025 period, an increase of 174 surgeries, or 14.3 per cent more compared to the end of March 2025.
SNSWLHD had one of the best results in the state for the percentage of planned surgeries performed on time, with almost all patients, or 94.4 per cent, receiving their planned surgery on time.
Almost all urgent planned surgeries (99.6 per cent) were performed on time, and the majority of semi-urgent planned surgeries (96.7 per cent), and non-urgent surgeries (91.1 per cent) were performed on time.
NSW Health has worked with the Australian College of Emergency Medicine to introduce new Hospital Access Targets for local health districts and specialty health networks relating to the time from arrival to leaving the emergency department (ED). These new targets are designed to support safe patient care and reflect the complexity of patient needs and the diverse pathways patients may take once they present to an ED.
This is the second Healthcare Quarterly report to reflect the new targets. Due to the change in reporting, the results for the new Hospital Access Targets cannot be compared with the previous April to June 2024 quarter.
During April to June 2025, there were 29,211 presentations to EDs across SNSWLHD. Of these presentations, there were 4,085 by patients with an imminently life-threatening condition (emergency or triage category 2), an increase of 7.4 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2024.
There were also 10,971 patients presenting with potentially life-threatening conditions (urgent or triage category 3), a 7.1 per cent increase when compared with the same quarter in 2024.
All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED and, as always, the most seriously unwell patients are treated first. During busy times, people with less urgent conditions will experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.
“We are grateful for the patience people show during these situations,” Ms Bennett said
Despite the high demand, almost 8 in 10 patients (74.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly higher than the NSW average (65.7 per cent). The majority of patients (78.5 per cent) were discharged from the ED within four hours of arriving, also higher than the NSW average (66.1 per cent).
Under the new Hospital Access Targets, almost half of patients (49.0 per cent) were treated and admitted to hospital or transferred to another hospital within six hours of arriving, and almost all patients (95.3 per cent) spent 12 hours or less in ED, also above the NSW average (90.6 per cent).
The vast majority of patients (93.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is well above the NSW average (79.3 per cent).
“Behind every statistic is a patient who received timely, high-quality care. We’re proud of these results, but they’re a shared achievement,” Ms Bennett said.
“Our community plays a vital role by using emergency services for emergencies, which helps us care for the sickest patients first. If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, we encourage people to call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 for free instant health advice anytime, anywhere. You’ll speak to a registered nurse who will help you get the care you need.”
INDIVIDUAL HOSPITAL RESULTS
At Batemans Bay District Hospital there were 2,869 ED attendances during the April to June 2025 quarter. The majority of patients (78.5 per cent) started treatment on time, which is almost in line with the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.7 per cent). The vast majority of patients (93.3 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. Batemans Bay District Hospital performed 82 planned surgery procedures during the quarter.
At Moruya District Hospital there were 3,113 ED attendances during the April to June 2025 quarter. More than seven in 10 patients (74.4 per cent) started their treatment on time. All patients (97.5 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to the ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. Moruya District Hospital performed 213 planned surgeries during the quarter, and almost all (99.5 per cent) were performed on time.
At Goulburn Base Hospital there were 6,002 ED attendances during the quarter. Almost nine in 10 patients (86.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is similar to the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (89.0 per cent). During the April to June 2025 quarter, 422 planned surgeries were performed, and almost all (99.0 per cent) were performed on time. All urgent and semi-urgent surgeries were performed on time.
At Cooma Hospital there were 2,869 ED attendances during the quarter. More than nine in 10 patients (93.7 per cent) started treatment on time, which is well above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.7 per cent). Almost all patients (98.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (94.8 per cent). The majority of patients (88.6 per cent) were discharged from the ED within four hours, which is above the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (82.1 per cent). There were 60 planned surgery procedures performed during the April to June 2025 quarter and all were performed on time.
At Queanbeyan Hospital there were 6,589 ED attendances during the April to June 2025 quarter. More than eight in 10 patients (82.1 per cent) started treatment on time, which is slightly higher than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.7 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (86.8 per cent) were discharged from the ED within four hours of arriving – also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (82.1 per cent). Almost all patients (98.8 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (94.8 per cent). There were 189 planned surgery procedures performed during the April to June 2025 quarter, and all were performed on time.
At South East Regional Hospital (SERH) there were 5,814 ED attendances during the April to June 2025 quarter. Almost seven in 10 patients (65.9 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is below the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (72 per cent). Almost all patients (93.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is slightly above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (89.0 per cent). There were 419 planned surgeries performed during the quarter, with the majority of procedures (98.3 per cent) performed on time.