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EMERGENCY

In an emergency, always call triple zero (000) for an ambulance. Ambulances are the safest way to be assessed, treated and transported to the right hospital for the care you need.

Triple zero (000) is a free call from any phone, mobile or phone box.

For less severe but still urgent situations, go to an Emergency Department.

There are 12 public hospital Emergency Departments in Northern NSW Local Health District and they are all available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emergency departments are located at:

Photo of Tweed Valley Hospital
Published: 11 Dec 2024

Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) continued to improve planned surgery performance during the July to September 2024 quarter, despite hospitals in the District experiencing some of the highest activity levels on record. 

The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report (July – September 2024) is the first report to capture a full quarter of data from the new Tweed Valley Hospital, which commenced operations on 14 May 2024.  

From July to September 2024, 3,572 planned procedures were completed across NNSWLHD, with the vast majority (85.4 per cent) performed on time. This is an improvement of 8.2 percentage points compared with the same period in 2023 (77.2 per cent).

At the end of the quarter, there were 232 patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for their planned surgery, a reduction of 67 per cent, or 477 patients fewer, compared with the end of September 2023.

Median waiting times decreased for both the semi-urgent and non-urgent categories and remained stable for the urgent category.

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.

NNSWLHD Director Clinical Operations Lynne Weir said hospitals continued to see increasing numbers of patients presenting to emergency departments and arriving by ambulance, trends which are being reflected across NSW. 

“We had 56,041 emergency attendances in the quarter, an increase of 3.4 per cent, or 1,840 additional attendances when compared with the same quarter last year, and the highest July-September quarter ever recorded.  

“We also saw 9,775 arrivals by ambulance, an increase of 585 arrivals, or 6.4 per cent, compared with the same quarter in 2023, and the highest ever on record. 

“It’s incredibly busy in our EDs, and I’d like to thank all our staff for their continued efforts in caring for our communities at their most vulnerable.”

From July-September 2024, almost seven in 10 patients (69.5 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the NSW average (61.3 per cent).

More than eight in 10 patients (80.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is better than the NSW average (77.5 per cent).

The majority of patients (71.0 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving – which is also significantly better than the NSW average (54.7 per cent).

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

“As a district, we are focussed on supporting patients to access timely care in a range of settings, depending on what’s most appropriate for their condition,” Ms Weir said. 

“In many cases, that may be through our emergency departments, but we are also implementing alternative avenues such as combining our Hospital in the Home and community nursing services across the District to improve the capacity in the community for out-of-hospital services.”

For non-life threatening illness or injury such as a cough, nausea, sprain or minor cut, residents can phone HealthDirect on 1800 022 222 for free, expert health advice 24 hours a day. 

A registered nurse will answer your call, ask some questions and connect you to the right care, which could include connecting with a health expert by phone or video call, booking an appointment at an urgent care clinic or other local healthcare service, and also calling an ambulance or directing to the emergency department if the situation is life-threatening.

Individual hospital results

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,635 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 6.7 per cent (290 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. More than six in 10 patients (62.1 per cent) started their ED treatment on time. More than seven in 10 patients (74.0 per cent) left the ED within four hours. More than eight in 10 patients (87.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023.

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL had 5,354 ED attendances for the quarter, up 1.8 per cent (95 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (85.0 per cent) started their ED treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.3 per cent). Eight in 10 patients (81.5 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving. More than nine in 10 patients (93.4 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is in line with the average for hospitals of a similar size (93.3 per cent).

CASINO & DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL had 3,456 ED attendances in the quarter, an increase of 7.4 per cent (237 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 patients (59.8 per cent) started treatment on time and more than eight in 10 patients (84.0 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving. More than nine in 10 patients (93.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL had 7,023 ED attendances during this quarter, a 4.4 per cent increase (293 attendances) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 started treatment on time (56.3 per cent). Almost seven in 10 patients (69.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (59.0 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (87.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark an increase of 4.7 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023.

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL had 10,046 ED attendances during the quarter. The District also saw 3,022 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 8 per cent (225 arrivals) on the same quarter in 2023. More than five in 10 patients (51.3 per cent) started their treatment on time, and 50.6 per cent of patients left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is slightly above the  average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (48.7 per cent). More than six in 10 patients (66.6 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MACLEAN DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,073 ED attendances during the quarter, up 7.5 per cent (283 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. More than seven in 10 patients (75.5 per cent) started their treatment on time. More than eight in 10 patients (86.2 per cent) left the ED within four hours. Almost all patients (93.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 5,089 ED attendances during the quarter, an increase of 5.7 per cent (275 attendances) compared with the same quarter in 2023. The vast majority of patients (80.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (65.4 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (85.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (59.0 per cent). Almost nine in 10 patients (89.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

TWEED VALLEY HOSPITAL had 14,138 ED attendances during the quarter. There were 2,944 ambulance arrivals, an increase of 10.8 per cent (or 288 arrivals) compared with the same quarter in 2023 (at The Tweed Hospital). More than seven in 10 patients (79.1 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (53.7 per cent). More than six in 10 patients (66.1 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (48.7 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (84.3 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (75.0 per cent).