Police received multiple reports of damage after a destructive rampage in the town.

The Victorian health system was left critically injured by the pandemic and its recovery is expected to take years.

Cluttered emergency departments, unacceptably long elective surgery wait lists and overstretched GPs are still causing major headaches.

In this special three-part series, 9News goes inside our major hospitals for a wide-ranging health check, guided by the doctors and nurses right in the middle of it.

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It takes a lot of skill and endurance to work in emergency, and the demands at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville have never been greater.

The rush of the unwell, trauma victims, drug overdoses and mental health patients often comes at 11am and preparations are in full swing from early in the morning.

The emergency department was down one registrar on the day 9News filmed.

Many of the doctors and nurses there haven't taken a breath since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

It's like a game of high speed Tetris, trying to fit too many patients into too few beds.

Dr Mya Cubitt, who is the Emergency Physician in Charge at the hospital, told 9News: "I think if we were honest, all of us are a bit burnt out, a bit broken.

"There are days where I'm a bit frightened to come to work that I don't quite have enough in me. But once you get here, it's the same as it's always been. It's the patient in front of you, the care that they need and trying to deliver it."

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Emergency department physician Dr Jonathan Papson said there were problems everywhere in the system and that the solution for today's issue wouldn't fix tomorrow's headache.

Just while 9News was interviewing him, six more patients arrived at the emergency department.

Dr Papson said patients were "absolutely" having to queue longer for treatment than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's hours and hours," he said. "The hospital system is still quite stressed.

"Some days are really, really bad and things are out of control. Other days are better."

The caseload is also unpredictable; from broken legs sustained in bike crashes to serious trauma caused from falls at work.

At The Alfred, in Melbourne, there's a similar set of challenges.

More people are coming into emergency and often they're sicker than pre-pandemic, requiring longer stays in hospital.

Associate nurse manager Shirley Yi said accommodating patients was "like a puzzle".

"Sometimes we're full and we'll have to move some patients out. It is a challenge," she said.

There is trepidation about what lies ahead.

"Everybody's tired and we're concerned that we're not at winter yet," Royal Melbourne Hospital nurse unit manager Susan Harding said.

"At some point, there has to be an end to it. At some point, there is no flexibility left."

But the bonds between those in the system have never been stronger.

Emergency department floor coordinator Maggie Bock said seeing her team rally like they had for the past three years was "just the most incredible thing".

"I work with the most amazing special group of people who I can count on every single day," she said.

"That really keeps me coming back, the team that we work with."

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Personal trainer Emma Wilson has always maintained her health, so no one was more shocked than her when she suffered a heart attack on a cruise in 2015.

Wilson asked her doctor what was going on and she was told, "You're having a heart attack".

If the 53-year-old had a heart health check, she believes she would have discovered she had high blood pressure and cholesterol earlier.

READ MORE: The deadly heart condition you may not know you have

"I wouldn't have to go through the trauma, my children wouldn't have to go through the trauma," Wilson said.

Currently, all Australians aged 45 and older have access to a free heart health check from their doctor through Medicare to determine their risk of heart disease.

But from June 30, funding for the potentially life-saving test is due to end.

"We know that there are screening programs in existence for breast cancer, bowel cancer, cervical cancer but nothing for our leading cause of death," Natalie Raffoul from the Heart Foundation said.

In 2021, there were 17,331 deaths relating to heart disease nationally.

In Sydney, residents in Cumberland, Blacktown and Liverpool have the highest rate of hospital admissions.

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Since the Medicare-funded checks were made available in 2019, close to half a million Aussies have had one.

Doctors are concerned those in the community who need the most will go without if the checks are discontinued.

Cardiologist Dr Ross Walker said heart attacks come at a significant cost to the community.

"What people don't realise is one heart attack costs the community anywhere between $30,000 to $40,000, so if we can do a simple, inexpensive screening test to pick up heart disease early we can defuse those costs later on," he said.

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More than 18,000 have signed a Heart Foundation petition to keep the checks on the Medicare benefits schedule.

A government spokesperson told 9News today that the Albanese government "strongly backs" the heart health check.

"An extension of the heart health items is being considered as part of the 2023-24 budget process," the spokesperson said.

The Heart Foundation wants reassurance the item will continue to exist beyond June 30 and "continue to have a life-saving impact on Australians".

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Facebook groups were abuzz this afternoon at the thought of capturing the phenomenon.

The nationwide midwife shortage had meant the hospital had struggled.

The champion gelding Cardigan Bay died in 1988 and was laid to rest at Alexandra Park.

It is like nothing I have seen. Everything was destroyed.”

I believe that every child has the potential to succeed

AT says funding has been cut – in fact, it hasn’t been applied for.

Police were called to report person was critically injured on mountain about 4pm Sunday.