State Heath minister Mary-Anne Thomas remains confident the the backlog of surgeries in Victoria is reducing amid recent COVID-related delays.

The Allan government is pushing ahead with the acceleration of planned surgeries, launching four rapid access hubs which will all be fully operational by May to help facilitate more patients.

“We are making good inroads into the (surgery) waitlist,” Minister Thomas told Heidi Murphy on 3AW Drive.

Click PLAY to hear Heidi Murphy go head-to-head with Mary-Anne Thomas on 3AW Drive 

“(We completed) 51,000 surgeries in the last quarter (of a year) and there remains (about) 68,000 people on the waitlist.”

Ms Thomas also said there had been a noticeable “lag” with people making appointments with their GPs, largely due to the worry around adding additional strain to the health system during the pandemic.