NSW emergency department numbers soar

The number of presentations at NSW emergency departments has surged to record highs, new Bureau of Health Information figures reveal.

More than 664,000 patients visited the state's emergency departments between October and December 2015 - a jump of two per cent compared with the previous year.

"NSW emergency departments continue to see more patients and more urgent cases," BHI chief executive Jean-Frederic Levesque said.

However, waiting times in emergency departments barely budged.

The average time patients spent in emergency departments crept up by three minutes over the 12 months, now standing at two hours and 41 minutes.

Just under three-quarters of patients were released from emergency departments within four hours.

The number of elective surgeries performed slipped by two per cent compared to the year before.

But patients are waiting longer for non-urgent surgeries.

"This quarter, half of patients waited 32 weeks for non-urgent surgery, which is nine days longer than the same quarter the previous year," Dr Levesque said.