Dominic Perrottet and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams visited the hospital on January 25 as part of a series of community engagements; a sign the Liberal Party's state election campaign is ramping up.

"Leslie has spoken to me many times about increasing the capacity at Port Macquarie Hospital and that is something the government is working towards and it's incredibly important," Mr Perrottet said after speaking with doctors and nurses at the hospital on Wednesday.

"I think more needs to be done. I spoke with nurses and doctors today and capacity is the number one issue."

While the premier toured a section of the hospital and spoke with health staff, no funding announcements were made.

Mr Perrottet said he has spoken to the health minister about the capacity at Port Macquarie Base Hospital as the region's population grows.

"Leslie has raised the issue with me and with the treasurer numerous times," he said.

"We're seeing so many people move to Port Macquarie and as people move, we have to make sure services and infrastructure keeps pace."

This is an issue that has been raised by the president of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) Port Macquarie Base Hospital branch Mark Brennan.

"The hospital is not coping. This is ongoing and [the government] have known about it for ages," he said.

"If the Premier made no concrete announcements, what was he there for?"

Mr Brennan said Port Macquarie Base Hospital now looks after a population of 86,000 people.

"The hospital is outdated and it's not coping," he said. "It's not fit for purpose for the growth of our population.

"We actually don't need an extension, we need a new hospital."

Mrs Williams said she understands the challenges health staff are facing at Port Base.

"Like many regional communities across the state, we also face our challenges," she said.

"One of my highest priorities is health. Obviously I have a background in health, I worked here at the local hospital and this is where I did my training.

"I understand very clearly the challenges that we face."

Mrs Williams said she wanted to bring the Premier to the hospital to further understand the pressures staff are under.

"I wanted to bring the Premier here to talk to the nurses in ED, talk to the staff, talk to the doctors about the challenges we are facing here," she said.

Mr Perrottet said there has been "significant challenges in terms of staffing" across the state's hosiptals.

"There's no doubt that there are challenges with staff shortages in every area of across NSW, but the focus for us as a government needs to be on expanding hospitals," he said.

"That's on the government to make those investments. I was hearing from doctors and nurses today how the government can best support increasing the capacity here at Port Macquarie Base Hospital."

Mr Brennan said he believes the Premier's visit to the hospital was "rhetoric from the government".

"They're making empty promises," he said.

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