There are serious concerns about the ability of regional health services and staff to cope with COVID-19 caseloads as Victoria and NSW move to 'reopen'.
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Northeast Health Wangaratta acting chief executive Robyn Gillis and Indi MP Helen Haines have joined to voice their fears about increasing demand on the system.
"I'm genuinely concerned that we are in a pandemic, and that we will see excessive demand on our services, but what I know is my team are ready," Ms Gillis said.
"They're tired, but they're committed.
"The biggest threat for our service is unvaccinated people holidaying in our region; they get unwell, and our ability to serve that increase in demand will be challenging.
"We will see excessive demand on our service."
Northeast Health has eight ICU beds but upgrades currently underway, hoped to be completed in January, will increase beds to 12.
About 100 additional part-time staff have been added throughout the pandemic to account for new measures such as testing and a crunch with neglected health conditions, but 35 positions are currently advertised, yet to be filled.
Indi MP Helen Haines said a regional-specific COVID management plan and staffing had to be urgently addressed by the federal government.
"Doctors, nurses, administrators ... are all working under extreme duress really with a global pandemic," she said.
"We've had instances of COVID positive case and they've responded brilliantly, but they are a workforce that has always been under pressure.
"The very best thing we can do to assist our rural health workforce is to get that vaccination rate as high as we possibly can.
"It's really important because rural and regional health before the pandemic was under enormous pressure.
"It's super important that the federal government invest in rural and regional health, that they invest in our nursing and allied health workforce in the same way that they've invested in our young medical workforce."
Dr Haines shared Ms Gillis' concerns about much-needed tourism returning to the state amidst rising COVID case numbers.
"My fear is that there is inadequate investment into our rural health workforce and into the infrastructure of rural health," she said.
"The federal government needs to recognise, alongside our state government, that these regional health services must be supported in a way that we haven't seen before.
"I want to make sure that as, as the nation opens up, as the state opens up, as we see our visitors who we welcome from our metropolitan areas, flood back into our region that we have the resources we need here.
"What we're talking is an overarching plan from the federal government.
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Dr Haines said it was a concern to her that a long-awaited upgrade to Albury Wodonga Health's emergency department was yet to begin.
"I think the situation at Albury Wodonga Health is an acute one ... it has the busiest outpatient numbers of any regional health service in the state (of Victoria)," she said.
"I call on the federal government to back in the people of the border, to back in the extraordinary work that happens ... and contribute alongside the New South Wales and Victorian governments to getting a brand new hospital."
