Mr T BULL (Gippsland East) (11:43): (15 027) My constituency question is to the Minister for Health on behalf of the Bairnsdale Ambulance Auxiliary. The information I seek is why funding has been withdrawn from the second Bairnsdale ambulance afternoon shift, which will be forced to cease operations on 24 September, and what consideration has been given to the impact of this decision to abandon the shift. This second afternoon shift was initiated as a trial to improve ambulance response times in Bairnsdale and the surrounding districts, and from all reports it has been very successful. The Bairnsdale hospital routinely transfers large numbers of patients by ambulance to other facilities to access intensive care, orthopaedic, mental health, advanced obstetric and paediatric care. Previously evening patient transfers to Latrobe Regional Hospital in Traralgon were delayed and people needing an ambulance were forced to wait for the off-duty paramedic from Paynesville to respond or they waited for the ambulance to travel from Lakes Entrance. For the past 16 months there has been a second ambulance available, and the community wants to know why this has been cut.