People with "non-urgent" illnesses and injuries have been flooding into Dubbo Hospital's Emergency Department.
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The Bureau of Health Information's latest Healthcare Quarterly reveals a 71.6 per cent jump in presentations in the non-urgent triage category.
In the July to September quarter 2019, there were 1383 non-urgent presentations, an increase of 577 on the 806 presentations recorded in the corresponding period in 2018.
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Total presentations at the department increased by 16 per cent.
The 8480 presentations in the 2018 quarter rose by 1357 to 9837 presentations in the 2019 quarter.
The Healthcare Quarterly, released in the lead-up to Christmas, provided data on all five triage categories.
In the semi-urgent category, presentations rose by 360 or 10.2 per from 3515 in the 2018 quarter to 3875 in the 2019 quarter.
In the urgent category, presentations rose by 298 or 10.8 per cent from 2754 to 3052.
Emergency and resuscitation presentations dropped from 934 to 913, and 23 to 15, respectively.
Treatment began on time for 60.2 per cent of patients in the 2019 quarter compared with 68 per cent in the same period in 2018.
The percentage of patients leaving the department within four hours of presentation rose from 68.8 in the 2018 quarter to 69.1 in the 2019 quarter.
The Western NSW Local Health District reports of "increased ED presentations" at Dubbo across the past 12 months including the eight days from Christmas Day to New Year's Day.
The 846 presentations in the Christmas/New Year period 2019/2020 was up 54 on the same period in 2018/2019 and 30 on 2017/2018.
