Border MP wants COVID vaccine rules and army to be factored in to address hospital woes

Albury Wodonga Health this week declared a second code yellow, seven days after lifting the last one.

North East Health has also applied the emergency measure at Wangaratta's hospital after a spike in patients.

Mr Tilley said some lateral thinking was needed to tackle the difficulties that have seen emergency departments overwhelmed on the Border.

"What about those nurses and medical staff who have been stood down because they are not vaccinated?" Mr Tlley said.

"It appears the vaccine doesn't prevent you from catching or transmitting COVID, why can't we find a way to use these people as a circuit breaker."

The Victorian Department of Health has no plans to soon alter hospital vax rules.

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"While we are continually assessing all our vaccine mandate settings, winter is around the corner and our frontline healthcare workers will be at the forefront of the fight against COVID," a spokesperson said.

"Healthcare workers are at increased risk of vaccine preventable diseases.

"If they become infected and work while infectious, they pose a risk of transmission to patients, including those who are vulnerable because of age or chronic disease.

"Getting COVID also affects their ability to work and therefore impacts health services ability to staff their hospitals."

Mr Tilley also said "perhaps it's time we ask whether the Royal Australian Army Medical Corp could set up a staging and treatment field hospital to overcome the current surge of patients".

The department did not respond to that suggestion.

At Wangaratta, acting Northeast Health chief executive Robyn Gillis said just over 50 staff were on sick leave on Thursday, exacerbating the difficulties posed by climbing patient numbers.

"We are seeing increases in emergency department presentations, hospital admissions and emergency surgeries," Ms Gillis said.

"For context, we usually have around 80 people present to the ED in a day.

"Over the past week there have been multiple days where there have been upwards of 100 presentations."

Meanwhile, Wodonga Upper House MP Tim Quilty has attacked the Victorian government for not making the Twin Cities hospitals master plan public.

He said people were being treated with contempt from the government.

"The future of the Albury-Wodonga hospital is something that people should be allowed to see," Mr Quilty said.

"There is no reason to keep it secret unless there is something to hide."

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