Revealed: The hospitals where you will wait the longest

Hospital patients in Western Sydney are waiting longer for treatment and spending more time in emergency departments.

In figures obtained by 7 News using Freedom of Information laws, other findings have shown ambulance response times have also risen in some areas.

While there were 664,000 visits to emergency departments around the state between April and June last year – the highest on record – patients at some Sydney hospitals fared better than others.

At Nepean Hospital in Sydney's west, 60 per cent of patients spent four or less hours in emergency.

Patients at Campbelltown and Liverpool shared similar experiences, with 59 per cent under the four hour mark, while Blacktown and Westmead fared worst at 53 per cent.

When it comes to patients being treated on time, Sydney's west didn't perform any better.

Westmead Hospital struggled, with only 39.9 per cent of patients seen to on time. Blacktown was slightly better at 49 per cent, while Mount Druitt was again higher at 60 per cent.

In comparison, outside of Sydney, Dubbo treated 65 per cent of their patients on time.

Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord believes hospitals in Sydney's west are underperforming in comparison to other Sydney hospitals.

"Well, I think there is a two-tier health system in Sydney [with] better, shorter waits on Sydney's North Shore," he said.

"In Western Sydney, you wait at every stage."

The government said delays have been due to the sharp increase in flu cases, which claimed 1100 lives across the country last year.

Despite struggling to cope with an increase in patients inside hospitals, paramedics on the road were proving their worth.

Wuth ambulances responding to 274,000 call-outs across NSW for the quarter, Sydney had the best Priority Ambulance response times within 10 minutes at 85 per cent.

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Western Sydney managed 75 per cent under the 10 minute mark, while South Western Sydney sat at 64 per cent.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government would continuously look at ways to improve the system.

"Is there better way of doing this with better communications systems? There's a whole range of issues we're looking at," he said.

The Health Department is hoping this year's new flu vaccines will prevent another hectic winter.