Malfunctioning lifts and ambulances banked up: Is Bairnsdale hospital on the road to recovery?

The Victorian Department of Health endorsed a plan, which includes an expansion of the emergency service department and upgrades to infrastructure.

Jacob Wallace
February 13, 2026

With reports of patients left waiting in ambulances due to a lack of emergency service cubicles and a lift that frequently breaks down, Bairnsdale Hospital is in desperate need of an upgrade.

What happened: Last week, the Victorian Department of Health endorsed a plan from Bairnsdale Regional Health Service outlining just how much the hospital is in urgent need of additional emergency treatment and resuscitation spaces.

Not a done deal: The endorsement does not mean a guarantee of funds.

A master plan still needs to be completed by the Department of Health before final approval can go ahead and work can begin.

The Victorian MP for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, spoke to the Monitor about the state of Bairnsdale Hospital and said patient support must improve.

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Emergency, emergency: Bull said if the nine emergency service cubicles in the hospital are full then ambulances are forced to park outside the hospital while “paramedics are having to continue to monitor patients on ambulance trolleys until they can be moved into a cubicle”.

🗣️ “We only have a nine cubicle emergency department, and it's simply too small,” Bull said.

In 2022, a 72-year-old man died after waiting hours for a space in the emergency service rooms.

Take the stairs: The hospital has also had frequent problems with a malfunctioning lift, according to Bull.

🗣️“When we have the maternity ward upstairs, if someone is requiring an emergency caesarean and the lift is out, they've got to be brought down the stairs,” Bull said. “That’s not great patient support in what would be a modern day hospital.”

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Step-by-step process: The Victoria Department of Health’s endorsement of the plan means the Bairnsdale Regional Health Service can begin work on a master plan.

This next step will include budgeting for work, including an expansion of the emergency service department, upgrades to hospital infrastructure and attracting new medical staff.

“It's very difficult to make funding announcements until you have a figure and you know what you're dealing with,” Bull said.

Bull told the Monitor he has written to the Victorian Minister for Health Infrastructure, Melissa Horne, asking her to expedite the process of a master plan for the Bairnsdale hospital.

What does the hospital have to say?

Bairnsdale Regional Health Service CEO Peter Abraham told the Monitor: “East Gippsland is experiencing some of the fastest-growing demand for healthcare in the state driven by population growth and an ageing community, which means planning ahead is increasingly urgent.”