“Concealing these outcomes does not solve the issue — it merely erodes trust in the system and hampers the implementation of necessary reforms,” Austin said.

“Information on surgery waiting times remains accessible in the key findings, alongside charts that transparently show waiting durations and the proportion of surgeries completed on schedule.”

The decline is attributed to the recruitment of nearly 3,000 full-time healthcare workers, as retention levels stabilize to pre-pandemic standards, and increased use of urgent and virtual healthcare services.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park stated that despite the ongoing high demand for hospital services, the government is actively working to alleviate the pressure. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

Emergency departments had 785,084 attendances, with a slight drop of 1.3 per cent from the same quarter in 2024.