Nearly 40 per cent of the state's health professionals are now considering leaving their jobs due to the poor conditions, while hundreds are already looking for work outside of public hospitals, according to a union survey of 1650 health workers.

More than 75 per cent of those who took part in the survey believe that quality patient care has been compromised in the state due to increased workloads.

A high proportion of respondents are also concerned that students and interns are not receiving adequate training, due to workload pressures.

The Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association (VAHPA) said the survey results are alarming, with many workers reporting how they're unhappy in their jobs.

The union is now preparing to launch a major industrial campaign on Tuesday, with the current pay deal due to finish at the end of the year.

But the Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association rejected the union's claims, saying there was no evidence of an exodus of staff on the horizon with turnover rates within normal range.

"Clearly they are positioning themselves in the bargaining process," said chief executive Alec Djoneff.

He said health professionals were an essential part of the health system and he hoped to negotiate with them in good faith.

The health union, which covers jobs ranging from medical technicians to physiotherapists, said health professionals in Victoria are the lowest-paid in the country.

Bernarda Cavka, a physiotherapist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said low wages are an issue, but under-staffing is a big problem too.

"There are nowhere near enough bodies to do the work that needs to be done," she said. "We simply can't be expected to keep doing more with less."

Union state secretary Craig McGregor said wages and conditions stagnated under the disgraced former leadership of the Health Services Union.

He runs former union boss Ms Jackson's old branch. Last week, she was ordered to pay $1.4 million stolen from the union.

"These failings – including poor governance and financial mismanagement – have received a great deal of media attention," Mr McGregor said.

"What isn't so widely publicised are the poor industrial outcomes that occurred on Jackson's watch.

"Members could reasonably expect that a union would be able to negotiate good wages and conditions during favourable periods – when jobs are plentiful and workers in short supply. This opportunity was not seized."

He said the union will now seek to replicate the success of ambulance workers, who were a nuisance for the Coalition during the state election campaign and finally secured a pay deal under the Andrews government.

The Allied Health Professionals' industrial campaign comes as the government continues trying to prevent strike action and achieve a pay deal with angry public transport unions.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy's spokeswoman said the government is ready to begin negotiations with the health professionals union.

"The Andrews Labor government values all workers and will, of course, negotiate in good faith," she said.

Comment was being sought from Ms Jackson.