UP to 200 Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW) workers are in a holding pattern and several patients, including children, are waiting for surgery and treatment until a border restriction crisis reaches a positive resolve.

All bar two of the 80 staff who reside in NSW are frontline workers - including nurses, doctors, allied health, radiologists and pharmacists - and they have not been able to attend the Wangaratta hospital since new border restrictions came into effect from Wednesday.

Victorian based staff are working double shifts to fill the void, but NHW management has been in crisis talks with NSW and Victorian health departments to regain work exemptions for the organisation’s staff - with chief executive officer Tim Griffiths hoping for a positive outcome today.