Vulnerable Aussies left in pain as elective surgery wait times blow out

"People shouldn't have to suffer like this, it's cruel," said 83-year-old Adriana Lysterburg, who has been waiting three long painful years for a hip replacement.

"Some days I don't want to get out of bed," said another old aged pensioner, Ib Holmbaeck, who is also waiting on the public hospital surgery list for a full knee replacement.

"I used to be active ... but now I just sit all day long."

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Lysterburg lives alone and the painful journey from the lounge room to the bedroom can take her several minutes, as she clutches her walker and holds on to walls and doors for the eight-metre walk.

"The pain is so bad I can't lie down and have to sleep upright," she said.

"I've been waiting three years for the operation and now the doctor has told me it will be another six months. I can't live like this."

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The AMA's President, Professor Steve Robson, said the system was already overloaded.

But when COVID-19 came along, elective surgery was put on hold and now wait times have blown out.

"We have reached a situation where hundreds of thousands of Australians are now on the public hospital wait list for surgery and it's those - like aged pensioners - who can't afford private health cover, who are suffering," Robson said.

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"The state and federal health ministers need to make this a high priority and get it sorted."

Holmbaeck has just been waiting four years for his surgery and last week, "the hospital said it won't be this year and most likely not the year after".

"I'm not sure I can put up with the pain any longer," the 76-year-old said.