Bairnsdale hospital
Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (09:42): The Bairnsdale hospital desperately needs a new lift, and I ask the Minister for Health to fund it. The lift fails frequently. It was inoperable 12 times in the last 12 months, and being 30 years old, it cannot even fit in a standard hospital-size bed. The hospital maternity ward is located on the first floor and the emergency operating theatre is on the ground floor, so when the lift is out, pregnant women in need of a caesarean have to be taken downstairs while in labour. I note that 91 caesareans were performed at the hospital last year. A funding application under the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund was rejected. I understand that the application for $1.65 million was rejected due to a criteria technicality, as it stated it needed a new lift rather than a replacement. The disappointing thing here is that no one from the department bothered to pick up the phone so an application could be amended; it was simply refused. Minister, this needs funding, either inside or outside this grants process, before it costs a life, and I ask you to ensure the funds are allocated.