Western Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens residents wait the longest for an ambulance

Trend data also shows emergency patients in all parts of the region are waiting longer for ambulances than they were in 2010.

"It might only be a few minutes but it can make a significant difference to the outcome for the patient," Australian Paramedics Association NSW president Chris Kastelan said.

The Healthcare Quarterly report for July to September shows only 35.1 per cent of emergency patients in western Lake Macquarie were attended to by an ambulance in less than 15 minutes.

The median wait time was 16.2 minutes.

Thirty seven per cent of Port Stephens emergency patients received an ambulance in under 15 minutes with a median wait time of 17 minutes.

By comparison, 57.2 per cent of emergency patients in Newcastle and 57.7 per cent of patients in the Upper Hunter were attended to an ambulance within 15 minutes.

The median wait in Newcastle was 11.9 minutes while the Upper Hunter was 11.4 minutes.

Across the state, 57.1 per cent of emergency patients were treated by an ambulance within 15 minutes. The median wait time 11.9 minutes.

Almost all wait times increased in the July to September quarter, a fact attributed to increased winter demand.

NSW ambulances responded to close to 320,177 calls, up by 7.6 per cent or an additional 22,543 responses on the same quarter in 2018.

"Patient numbers for the winter quarter are unprecedented - up more than 47,000 on the same period last year - yet our teams have done us proud," NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said.

The response times reflect an increased demand on other parts of the health network in recent years.

The Newcastle Herald reported on Wednesday that the region's emergency departments had experienced the busiest quarter since the introduction of BHI reporting in 2010.

Ambulance response times for life threatening conditions ranged from 7.3 minutes to 7.8 minutes. The state average was 7.4 minutes.

Mr Kastelan said the response time data highlighted the pressure on paramedics.

"The NSW Ambulance Service is held together by the commitment of paramedics to help people in need," he said.

"The fundamental problem is more people in the region are requiring an ambulance more often."

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The state government is investing more than $1 billion on ambulance services this year, including $27.1 million to employ 221 paramedics and call centre staff as part of a commitment to employ an additional 750 paramedics and call centre staff over four years.

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