The new ED is being developed on the ground floor of the three-storey and under-construction Macquarie Building.

A tour of two prototype rooms on Wednesday included ED operations manager Margo Mackenzie who told of a plan to get "treatment started earlier".

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"We're upskilling nurses to be clinical initiative nurses (CINs) who can start treating patients," she said.

"Under new models of care we have a senior decision-maker in the fast-track area.

"As patients are seen by the senior decision-maker, CINs get the treatment started."

Mrs Mackenzie said another senior decision-maker, a doctor, would work in the acute area.

She said the size and layout of the new ED made it possible to treat the "right patients in the right place at the right time".

The new ED has many more resuscitation, acute and short-stay bays along with "safe" space for mental health patients to be assessed and treated.

"We were very envious of other towns receiving big, new emergency departments," Mrs Mackenzie said.

"However, I think we have something quite special because we visited them and learned what they would do differently next time.

"The department we have designed now has everything we could have asked for."

Early next year, staff will move into stage one of the new ED allowing for the demolition of the existing ED and imaging departments and then the expansion of the Macquarie Building.

A year later they will have access to stage two.

The Macquarie Building, set to be completed in mid-2021, is part of the $150 million stage three and four redevelopment of Dubbo Hospital funded by the state government.