BY DAKOTA TAIT
The Hunter New England Health District is hoping for a quieter summer, after another busy winter at the region's hospitals.
According to the latest Bureau of Health Information data, more than 109,000 people visited the Hunter's emergency departments in the three months to September, though more than half were not in need of life-threatening or critical care.
It's understood, COVID-19 and other winter illnesses are continuing to put pressure on health staff.
65.5 percent of patients started their treatments on time, while 78.3 percent were transferred out of ambulances within the half-an-hour benchmark, compared to a state average of 74.8 percent.
6,497 elective surgeries were performed across the region, with 99.6 completed on time.
