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Each quarter, the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) publishes Healthcare Quarterly, which reports on activity and performance in the NSW public health system. This includes information on emergency department (ED), elective surgery, admitted patient and ambulance services.

Alongside this routine reporting, BHI includes ‘special reporting’ sections in some quarters. These analyses focus on specific aspects of activity or performance highlighted in the main report. They provide deeper analysis to help put results in context and offer insights into factors that may be influencing trends.

Here are just a few of those special reporting sections:

How do NSW emergency departments compare with the rest of Australia?

In Healthcare Quarterly, January to March 2026, special reporting examined how EDs in NSW public hospitals compare with other Australian states and territories. We looked at publicly available data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to understand how NSW is performing in a national context.

The findings showed demand for ED services is high, but that NSW is performing well on several measures compared with other states and territories. For example, more patients are seen on time in NSW EDs compared with other states, and patients who do not need to be admitted to hospital spend less time in NSW EDs compared with other states.

However, patients who are admitted to hospital from the ED in NSW still spend longer in the ED than in most other states.

What is contributing to longer hospital stays in NSW?

Healthcare in Focus highlighted challenges in patient flow at discharge, with some patients experiencing longer stays than in previous years. This includes patients who were medically ready to leave hospital but were waiting for residential aged care, home-based support or other appropriate community care arrangements to be put in place. These delays can reduce the availability of hospital beds and contribute to congestion across the hospital system.

Special reporting in Healthcare Quarterly has also been used to better understand changes in average length of stay for admitted patients.

In Healthcare Quarterly, April to June 2023, the analysis explored factors associated with increases in length of stay in NSW public hospitals for particular patient groups between 2021 and 2022.

Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during their hospital visit stayed, on average, twice as long as other patients. Those discharged to residential aged care had even longer stays. Among the small group of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and then discharged to residential aged care, the average hospital stay was longer again.

In October to December 2023, a separate analysis examined variation in length of stay across hospitals for four common conditions and surgical procedures – cellulitis, heart failure, hip replacement and knee replacement. Cellulitis and heart failure were selected as they account for the largest number of bed days among patients with acute and chronic conditions, and hospitalisations for these conditions are considered potentially preventable. Hip and knee replacements were selected as these are common elective surgical procedures.

The special reporting identified hospitals with average length of stay significantly higher or lower than NSW, after taking into account differences in the types of patients they serve. See more information:

How is Hospital in the Home being used across NSW?

As demand for hospital care continues to grow, there is increasing use of alternative models of care that provide treatment and care outside traditional hospital settings.

Hospital in the Home (HITH) is one such model that provides hospital-level care for patients in their home or community as a substitute for inpatient care. Evidence shows this model can support positive patient outcomes while reducing demand on hospital beds.

BHI examined the use of HITH in January to March 2024, and again in April to June 2025.

The analysis found that HITH use is increasing, but at different rates across NSW. Some local health districts use it more than others.

This suggests there may be opportunities to expand HITH, helping more patients receive effective care outside hospital and reducing pressure on hospital beds.

This work has also informed BHI’s routine reporting, with HITH now included as a routine measure in Healthcare Quarterly.

See more information:

Why does BHI’s special reporting matter?

BHI’s routine reporting provides a consistent view of activity and performance in the NSW public health system over time.

Special reporting builds on this by offering more detailed analysis of specific measures or areas of interest identified in the main report. It helps to provide context for reported results and insight into factors that may be influencing them.

Together, these analyses support a more informed understanding of system performance and help identify areas for further exploration.