The Victorian president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) says the state’s hospitals are in such crisis that elective surgery reductions are now effectively in place at many hospitals.

In the past two weeks there’s been a 53 per cent increase in the number of Victorians in hospital with COVID-19.

Victorian AMA president, Dr Roderick McRae, says “we’ve pretty well established” that ward shutdowns and elective surgery reductions are now required.

“It beggars belief about how we’ve allowed ourselves to get to this situation,” he told Ross and Russel.

“It appears particularly the business community, but maybe the community at large, have abandoned the healthcare community in the state.”

ROSS STEVENSON: At what point does it get to the point where hospitals need to shut down wards and reduce elective surgery?”

DR MCRAE: “I’d say we’ve pretty well established we need to do that now.”

Dr McRae says most large public teaching hospitals are currently only carrying out category 1 and the highest category 2 surgeries.

Press PLAY below to hear the full story