As Victoria’s hospital system struggles to cope with demand, the ABC has spoken to insiders who say the situation is worse than it's ever been, and many staff are at breaking point. Just last week triple zero call takers were forced to use pen and paper after its system crashed, prompting a code red. Now the ABC can reveal the number of people abandoning emergency medical care before they have even been seen has doubled in the past year, with some people forced to wait more than 12 hours in E-D waiting rooms.