THE emergency department at South West Healthcare's Warrnambool hospital treated more than 24,000 patients last financial year - the equivalent of three out of four Warrnambool residents.

For the third consecutive year the hospital treated a record number of patients, rising two per cent on the previous financial year.

The hospital's chief executive officer John Krygger revealed that 82 per cent of patients seeking emergency help were treated within four hours, above the state target of 80 per cent.

"We continue to respond to burgeoning demand in our emergency department," Mr Krygger said.

"When we redeveloped it 10 years ago we were treating 13,000 patients. Now we're treating more than 24,000 patients.

"It's increasingly difficult to do this in the midst of such a large capital redevelopment project but we're pleased that we've out-performed the targets set by the Department of Human Services."

The emergency department at Western District Health Service's Hamilton hospital was also busier, with patient numbers increasing five per cent to 2677 in the six months to the end of June - up 126 on the same period the previous year.

Western District Health Service chief executive officer Jim Fletcher said the hospital's improved results were a credit to its medical, nursing and support staff.

"To be able to maintain and improve our performance in some instances with regards to the statewide benchmark indicators was an outstanding effort," Mr Fletcher said.

"I'm proud of the way our staff always manage to rise to the occasion to cope with increasing demands."

Other south-west hospitals also experienced a rise in patient numbers, with Moyne Health Service's Port Fairy hospital admitting 282 patients to June 30 - an eight per cent rise.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said Victorian hospitals had experienced a 400,000-patient increase over eight years but were treating more people within benchmark times.