During the first quarter of the year 8588 people attended the ED for treatment, this was a 6.2 per cent jump on the 8085 seen during the same period in 2018.

Of those, 24 attendances were for a resuscitation (down 11.1 per cent) and 926 were for a life-threatening emergency (up 0.7 per cent).

Despite the increase in presentations to Dubbo's ED, staff were still able to treat 72.7 per cent of people within clinically recommended time frames.

Hospital general manager Debra Bickerton said it had been an extremely busy period for the Dubbo's ED staff.

The spike in ED presentations was also replicated across all other hospitals in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD), with increases of up to 23.5 per cent in patient numbers.

The first three months of the year also saw a baby boom in the region with a 868 newborns welcomed which was up 5.2 per cent (43 births) on the same quarter in 2018.

WNSWLHD chief executive Scott McLachlan said the district had performed well and demonstrated local hospitals could handle complex emergency cases.

"Getting patients to hospitals that can provide the right level of care is critical," he said.

"It's testament to the work of our staff and the investment in our hospitals that we can see our role in complex emergency work strengthening."