For nearly two years, Australia and our health system weathered the pandemic with relatively low case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths compared to the rest of the world.

But when the easing of restrictions coincided with the Omicron variant, everything changed.

Now, the health system is inundated. Elective surgery has been postponed in many states, emergency departments are flooded with possible COVID-19 cases forcing them to triage patients separately and, in Victoria, a “code brown” has been declared with all health workers recalled from leave.

Today on Please Explain, emergency physician Dr Simon Judkins, who is on the board of the Australian Medical Association and works on the front line, joins Nathanael Cooper to take us inside Australia’s collapsing health system.

For nearly two years, Australia and our health system weathered the pandemic with relatively low case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths compared to the rest of the world.
But when the easing of restrictions coincided with the Omicron variant, everything changed.
Now, the health system is inundated. Elective surgery has been postponed in many states, emergency departments are flooded with possible COVID-19 cases forcing them to triage patients separately and, in Victoria, a &ldquo;code brown&rdquo; has been declared with all health workers recalled from leave.
Today on Please Explain, emergency physician Dr Simon Judkins, who is on the board of the Australian Medical Association and works on the front line, joins Nathanael Cooper to take us inside Australia&rsquo;s collapsing health system.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

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