From January to March this year the number of presentations increased by 9.3 per cent (or 802 people) from 8587 to 9389, data from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report shows.

While there was significant decline in resuscitation, emergency and urgent patients attending Dubbo Hospital's ED, the number of non-urgent cases increased dramatically.

Chief Executive of WNSWLHD, Scott McLachlan, said he was "immensely proud of the workforce during this extraordinary period".

"Our doctors and nurses have ensured 100 per cent of urgent surgeries were performed on time across the district, at a time when our EDs were seeing a spike in activity," he said.

"We saw 48,348 emergency department attendances in the March quarter and a jump in non-urgent activity through the ED at this time, up 9.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

"A lot of this activity was related to bushfires and people presenting with respiratory issues due to smoke and influenza and also people presenting for Covid-19 testing."

During the three-month period there was a 45.6 percent jump in people with triage category five (non-urgent) medical conditions attending the hospital, with numbers up from 971 people to 1414.

Meanwhile, there were less people needing resuscitation (down 16.7 per cent), less emergency cases (down 12.5 per cent) and less urgent cases (down 2.4 per cent).

Overall, more than seven in 10 (73.8 per cent) ED patients were treated on time, up 1.1 percentage points.

Data showed Dubbo's ED remains the busiest in the region, while there were 7809 presentations at Orange Hospital's ED (up 0.4 per cent) and 6677 in Bathurst (down 1.4 per cent).

Dubbo experienced a 9.3 per cent increase in the number of emergency department attendances, up 802 people to 8,389 compared with the previous year's January to March quarter.

Notably, there was a 45.6 per cent increase in the number of non-urgent cases (triage category 5) compared to the same quarter in 2019, up by 443 people to 1,414.

The number of elective surgeries performed at Dubbo Hospital increased during the quarter, while the number of people on the waiting list spiked significantly.

During the three-month period the number of elective surgeries increased by 79, from 847 to 926, but by the end of the quarter the number of people still waiting for their day in the operating theatre had jumped by 33.3 per cent (from 1767 to 2356).

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Cabinet suspended all non-urgent elective surgery from March 26, with all urgent and some exceptional semi-urgent surgery continuing.

BHI chief executive Dr Diane Watson said it was an extraordinary quarter for the people of NSW and their healthcare system.

"In early January, the bushfire crisis was at its peak and it continued through that month, becoming the most devastating bushfire season on record. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic would go on to dramatically and rapidly change the world we live in well before the end of March," Dr Watson said.

"March, in particular, saw far-reaching changes to people's lives and a large scale response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the health system."