A leading Victorian doctor has agreed the state's healthcare system is "absolutely overwhelmed" after it was revealed more than 87,000 people are awaiting elective surgery.
Dr Roderick McRae, the Victorian president of the Australian Medical Association, has told Today "the entire system is stressed" in Victoria, confirming it is even difficult to get an appointment with a GP.
He has spoken after the Victorian government released its latest healthcare performance data, revealing blowouts in ambulance and hospital wait times.
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"All of the statistics are indicating that absolutely every point of the healthcare system in Victoria is absolutely overwhelmed," he said.
"It's difficult to get an appointment for a general practitioner, so if you have a sick child you go to the emergency department and then you suddenly see the queues.
"Everything is very, very tight."
Dr McRae has compared the situation in Victoria to what occurred in the US after the Spanish Flu.
"In Victoria we're busy absolutely reproducing everything that occurred in the United States a hundred years ago after the Spanish flu."
He said everyone getting back to normal life after COVID-19 lockdowns, going out to restaurants and cinemas, meant COVID-19, the flu and RSV were being transmitted.
"There's just more and more presentations to every part of the healthcare system."
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The latest data has revealed there are still more than 87,000 Victorians needing planned procedures.
Casey Hospital deputy director of emergency medicine Dr Nathan Bushby said a row of temporary modular units had been opened up to meet demand.
"These have been opened up to help us treat the massive increase in respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 that we're seeing across this winter," Bushby said.
After repeated requests, the state government has released the latest quarterly healthcare figures.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said Victoria was currently experiencing "unprecedented demand".
Between April and June, more than 486,000 patients presented to emergency departments across the state, a 5 per cent jump.
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"It's certainly the busiest I've ever seen it in my 25 years as a doctor," Bushby said.
Meanwhile Ambulance Victoria experienced the busiest quarter in its history.
There were more than 97,000 code one dispatches, which are cases requiring lights and sirens.
This represented a 16 per cent increase.
Opposition spokesperson Georgie Crozier said "every case counts for a code one".
"Those targets are nowhere near being met," Crozier said.
Forty-six per cent of the most urgent call outs were not attended to within the required 15 minutes.
"We've never pretended that there is a quick fix," Thomas said.
There was a dent in the elective surgery waitlist, with just over 87,000 patients now in the queue.
But pre-pandemic those waiting for planned procedures was down around 50,000.
