Patients arriving at Ballina Hospital’s emergency department are getting treatment considerably faster, with new figures showing one of its key performance measures has improved by more than 15 percentage points.

The latest Bureau of Health Information figures show 75.2 per cent of patients at Ballina District Hospital started treatment within the recommended time during the April to June quarter.

That was a 15.2 percentage point improvement compared with the same period last year.

The improvement comes despite continuing pressure on emergency departments across the Northern Rivers, where hospitals are treating increasing numbers of seriously ill patients.

Ballina recorded 4,658 emergency department presentations during the three months, relatively unchanged from the same period last year.

It was also slightly lower than the 4,771 presentations recorded during the first three months of this year, when demand at Ballina had risen 4.5 per cent year-on-year.

The latest result continues a significant turnaround for Ballina’s emergency department after previous figures raised concerns about its performance.

Last December the hospital had recorded the lowest four-hour emergency department result among Northern NSW’s smaller hospitals, with 74.6 per cent of patients who did not require admission or transfer leaving within four hours.

The latest figures measure a different performance indicator, the proportion of patients whose treatment began within the recommended timeframe, but show a substantial improvement compared with a year ago.

More nurses being recruited

The figures come as Ballina District Hospital prepares to introduce new Safe Staffing Levels in its emergency department.

Northern NSW Local Health District says recruitment is underway to implement the staffing model at Ballina.

Lismore Base Hospital, Tweed Valley Hospital and Grafton Base Hospital have already begun rostering under the new system following the recruitment of more than 40 full-time-equivalent nurses.

The model provides one-to-one nursing care for generally occupied emergency resuscitation beds and one nurse for every three generally occupied ED treatment spaces and short-stay beds.

Northern NSW Local Health District Chief Executive Tracey Maisey praised hospital staff across the region.

“We continue to deliver high-quality, timely healthcare to the people of Northern NSW because of the concerted efforts of every staff member,” Ms Maisey said.

“From our emergency departments to surgical theatres, administration, cleaners and wards people, I extend a wholehearted thank you to everyone.”

Surgery numbers remain steady

Northern NSW Local Health District Chief Executive Tracey Maisey

Ballina Hospital performed 307 planned surgical procedures during the quarter, compared with 314 during the same three months last year.

Across Northern NSW, emergency departments treated 56,307 patients, broadly unchanged from 55,968 a year earlier.

However, the seriousness of presentations increased.

The number of patients requiring immediate resuscitation rose 15.1 per cent, while category two emergency presentations increased 6.6 per cent and category three urgent presentations rose 6.1 per cent.

At the same time, less urgent emergency department presentations declined.

The Health District says greater use of urgent care and virtual health services is helping divert patients with less serious conditions away from hospital emergency departments.

The new figures follow warnings last month that Northern NSW hospitals were experiencing intense winter pressure, with the Health District establishing a dedicated patient flow command centre to manage demand across the region.