TWEED Hospital emergency department has seen a 1.2per cent spike in patients presenting to the emergency department in January-March 2018.

The latest Bureau of Health Information Report released this week also revealed a 3.1per cent increase in emergency department presentations across the district for the quarter compared with the same period in 2017, equating to 1538 more patients.

Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said despite the increase in presentations, 79.8per cent of patients left emergency departments within four hours of presentation.

Emergency presentations and patient treatment times at Murwillumbah District Hospital remained steady compared with the same quarter last year, and 88.6per cent of patients left the ED within four hours.

As the community debate on the location of the new $534million Tweed Valley Hospital continues, Mr Jones said Tweed Hospital staff were handling the bustling pressure of the ED well.

"The staff at The Tweed Hospital are doing an excellent job of providing first class care to patients, even while their hospital is undergoing holding works,” Mr Jones said.

"We know our staff are having to deal with some tough conditions during this building phase, and we're looking forward to having the modular in-patient unit up and running soon.

The data also revealed:

• 81.3 per cent of patients started treatment on time across the region
• 3.4 per cent more elective surgeries carried out at The Tweed Hospital