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NSW border restrictions which prevented up to 80 healthcare staff from working in Wangaratta, leading to surgery cancellations and some staff working triple shifts, have been changed.
NSW staff who worked for the service were forced to isolate for two weeks once they returned home.
The NSW government has announced the rules would be relaxed and staff would no longer need to isolate, which will allow about 80 staff to return to work.
Northeast Health Wangaratta director David Kidd said the rules had put "enormous" stress on the provider with staff prevented from working.
"This is very positive news for us," he said.
"We've been challenged up until this point with staff numbers, with staff having to do double shifts and some even doing triple shifts just to make do.
"This is very positive news."
Mr Kidd said the biggest impact had been on ear, nose and throat surgery, and paediatric surgery.
"The surgeries had to be cancelled because the surgeons weren't able to make themselves available as they couldn't risk self isolating," he said.
"The biggest challenge we had was being 80-odd staff down and as a consequence we had other staff who were busting a gut trying to cover for it.
"We could make do as we were but we couldn't do it long term.
"We couldn't have kept going for any longer than about five days.
"Staff were already fatigued and this just added to it."
The restrictions had affected 12 to 15 per cent of the workforce each day.
Extensive meetings between health services, government agencies and politicians in both states were held from Wednesday to Friday in a bid to resolve the issue.
The staff can now apply for individual exemptions to cross the border without the need to isolate.
The Border Mail has sought clarification from NSW Ministry Health on whether other health providers outside of the border "bubble" can operate in a similar way.
Rutherglen residents have been unable to see doctors in the town as they live in NSW.
Other health providers also rely on doctors, nurses and other employees travelling between the two states for work.
A response is yet to be provided.
EARLIER: NSW border restrictions which prevented up to 80 healthcare staff from working in Wangaratta have been changed.
The health workers were not attending the service due to the restrictions, which forced the cancellation of surgeries and restricted other services.
The NSW government has announced that staff will no longer have got self isolate when they return home.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The decision was welcomed by Member for Indi Helen Haines.
"The past few days have been very challenging for our rural health services and the patients who rely on the committed care and support of these services' medical, nursing, allied health and administrative staff," she said.
"It has placed an enormous amount of stress on workforce and on our communities.
"It's a situation that could have been avoided with good consultation and it's one I would not want to see repeated."