Sydney hospitals with the highest emergency department workload named
In Sydney, Australia, new data from the Bureau of Health Information showed significant pressure on emergency departments in April–June 2026. The highest number of presentations was recorded at Liverpool Hospital — 23,773 — and Campbelltown Hospital — 23,664, ABC News Australia reports.
Across New South Wales, the median time from a patient's arrival to leaving the emergency department was 3 hours and 49 minutes. This was five minutes longer than in the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, the share of patients whose treatment began on time and the number of elective surgeries performed within the required timeframes increased across the state.
Number of presentations
Among other busy Sydney hospitals, Royal North Shore Hospital recorded 22,805 presentations, St George Hospital — 21,038, and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital — 20,832. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital recorded 13,153 presentations, while Ryde Hospital recorded 6,954.
Northern Beaches Hospital recorded 16,009 presentations. However, the hospital entered the public system only on 29 April, so figures before that date cover only services provided under a public contract. In the South Western Sydney Local Health District, the lowest numbers of presentations were recorded at Camden Hospital — 3,014 — and Fairfield Hospital — 9,099.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Timeliness of treatment and surgeries
At Liverpool Hospital, treatment began on time for 77.5% of patients, which was 7.8% higher than in the corresponding period a year earlier. At Campbelltown Hospital, the figure rose from 53.8% in April–June 2025 to 68.2% in 2026. It stood at 84.1% at Camden Hospital, 83.5% at Ryde Hospital, and 74.6% at Royal North Shore Hospital.
At Fairfield Hospital and Blacktown Hospital, treatment began on time for 49% of patients, and at Prince of Wales Hospital — for 52.6%. New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park acknowledged that there was still “much to do” in emergency departments. According to him, the number of category two and category three patients — emergency and urgent cases — has increased significantly in the state over the past 15 years.
During the reporting period, 85.6% of elective surgeries in the state were performed on time, excluding Hunter New England Local Health District, for which centralised data were unavailable. At the end of the quarter, 697 patients in the state had been waiting for surgery longer than the clinically recommended timeframe. Prince of Wales Hospital had 71 such patients, while St George Hospital had 49.
