The report stated 17,564 patients were admitted for elective surgery procedures last financial year – a drop of 19,187 from the year before.

The institute reported 73 per cent of Tasmanian patients were admitted within the clinically recommended time.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the report showed elective surgery average waiting times in Tasmania were the lowest they had been in five years.

He said the improvements were a result of Tasmania having the highest per capita rate of surgery of any state or territory.

The report showed the state’s emergency department had 6118 more people presenting to emergency departments in 2017-18 with 162,441 attendances overall.

Sixty-six per cent of patients were seen within the recommended time.

“Despite this, the median waiting time for emergency department care reduced slightly and the proportion of people seen on time increased slightly,” Mr Ferguson said.

The new data showed a slight improvement in the number of people being admitted to hospital within four hours although more than 70 per cent were not.

It showed 90 per cent of Tasmanian patients were staying in the emergency department before admission longer than patients from any other state.

The report noted that visits to emergency departments nationwide were 3.4 per cent higher than the previous year.

The AIWH this week released a report on mental health services for 2016-17 which showed one in five Tasmanians use prescription medications for their mental health.

Greens health spokeswoman said more Tasmanians accessed medication than people in any other state or territory.

She said depression and anxiety accounted for 84 per cent of diagnosed mental health issues.