Eighty-six-year-old waits more than nine hours at Warrnambool Base Hospital

The elderly woman - who suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, early stage dementia, and has a history of "mini strokes" - arrived at the ED in an ambulance before 11am on Sunday November 6 and wasn't seen by a doctor until nightfall.

The woman lives alone in Warrnambool and called the ambulance after severe upper leg and hip pain. Her daughter Julie Kane lives 6.5 hours away in Shepparton, but was in regular contact with her mother and the hospital.

"My first conversation with mum was at 11.42am. She was sitting in the ambulance bay but there was nowhere to offload her because the ED was full," she said.

"She was just sitting in a wheelchair, which is no good for a vulnerable person, especially with upper leg and hip pain."

The Victorian state health system is suffering the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with staff stress and burnout hitting the hospital system and primary healthcare network, especially GPs.

The sector-wide shock has hit regional areas, where recruiting medical staff has always been difficult, particularly hard.

The Standard reported on November 2 wait times at the hospital's ED were among the worst in the state, particularly for the longest-waiting patients. While patient numbers hadn't risen, wait times had, indicating staff shortages were to blame.

South West Healthcare said it couldn't comment on specific cases, but said on the weekend in question there was "extraordinary demand" on the ED, including a code yellow, which directed extra staff to the ED because of the surge in patients.

The 86-year-old was triaged almost immediately upon arriving at the ED and was assessed as being able to sit in the wheelchair. It was several hours before a nurse was able to make any further assessment and provide pain killers.

"I was genuinely worried mum would die sitting there in the waiting room," Ms Kane said. "I told them I thought she might have a blood clot in her leg because she has this history of mini strokes."

Ms Kane was regularly calling the hospital for updates, which eventually created tension with hospital staff.

"I was trying to ask them to give her some food and get her out of that wheelchair. She's diabetic and she's sat in a wheelchair for more than 10 hours with nothing more than a sandwich," she said.

Ms Kane said her mother was eventually diagnosed with sciatica - pain caused by compression of a long nerve that runs from the lower back through the hip to the leg - and taken through to a bed in a cubicle at around 9.30pm.

"Of course, if it is sciatica then it's made worse by prolonged periods sitting upright," she said.

Ms Kane said she was hesitant to speak out, but "if I stay quiet, nothing will change".

"I'm advocating for my mother here, but also for every other vulnerable person who has to go to the ED."

Ms Kane said she had worked in some of the busiest EDs in the state and felt for the staff at the hospital.

"I'm not criticising the staff, they're doing the best they possibly can. It's the system that's broken," she said.

"It's only going to get worse. You're going to have more elderly, vulnerable people sitting around for 12 hours and someone's going to die there, sitting in the waiting room."

A SWH spokesperson said patients were triaged according to urgency, which could lead to long wait times when there were surges in demand.

"We know how challenging it can be when other patients face longer than expected wait times but all patients, no matter their condition, are regularly monitored by our highly experienced triage nurses. We will continue to address our wait times and support our existing team who continue to do an amazing job."

The spokesperson encouraged people with chronic conditions to seek out their GP as a first resort, to avoid putting extra pressure on ED.

Ms Kane said her mother couldn't visit a GP on the weekend, and the general shortage of GPs, especially clinics that still offered bulk billing, made it much more difficult to avoid going to ED.

The SWH spokesperson said a new option for non-urgent patients had just become available, with the launch of a "virtual ED".

"If you don't think you're in an emergency situation, but you or someone you are caring for still needs advice from a health practitioner, you can use the Victorian Virtual ED, which is staffed by emergency doctors seven days a week," the spokesperson said.

"To call the virtual ED you can visit this site and follow the prompts: www.vved.org.au/patients/. You can also call Nurse on Call (1800 022 222), make an appointment with a GP or visit your pharmacy for help with a variety of minor symptoms."