The SNSWLHD revealed the entire workforce increased by an additional 575 full-time equivalent staff including 242 more nurses and midwives and 71 more allied health staff.

Yet the latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report showed in the April to June 2021 quarter, 99.6 per cent of urgent elective surgeries were performed on time at hospitals across the district.

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Nearly all, 95.5 per cent, of semi-urgent elective surgeries and 87 per cent of non-urgent elective surgeries were also performed on time.

In the South East, Batemans Bay District Hospital performed 99 elective surgery procedures during the quarter, all of which were on time.

At Bega's South East Regional Hospital (SERH) there were 423 elective surgery procedures performed, and 100 per cent of urgent elective surgery was performed on time.

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SNSWLHD chief executive Margaret Bennett said staff had worked hard to keep hospital services running smoothly while performing extra functions as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

"I am pleased with the stable activity reflected in the BHI results, especially given the impact of COVID-19 on our services," she said.

"We are ensuring that patients who had their elective surgery postponed due to COVID-19 receive their surgery as soon as possible, and we continue to work with our private hospital partners to make that happen."

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Emergency departments across the Southern NSW Local Health District are performing well as they grapple with an increase in attendances compared to the same time last year.

The notable increase was put down to fewer appearances at hospitals across NSW as a result of the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Batemans Bay District Hospital saw 3,557 emergency department (ED) attendances during April to June 2021, up 38.8 per cent, compared with the same period in 2020.

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At Moruya District Hospital, the Emergency Department had 2,814 attendances from April to June 2021, up 28.1 per cent from the same period in 2020.

Of the attendances, 62.7 per cent started their treatment on time in the ED.

The SERH emergency department saw 5,357 attendances for the April to June 2021 quarter, an increase of 41.5 per cent on the same quarter in 2020.

It was a significant increase from April to June 2019 pre pandemic where there were 4,942 ED attendances.