The $500,000 renovation has seen new showers and bathrooms, a kitchen, staff station and laundry installed, as well as new energy saving lighting and appliances, as well as some new flooring and upgrades to patients rooms.

Hunter New England Health funded the renovation of the rehab unit, which was once dubbed “the forgotten place” during the main hospitals $211 million redevelopment.

Hunter New England Health Executive Director Susan Heyman said “the upgrade was an important step in bringing the unit on par with the modern facilities delivered by the Tamworth Hospital redevelopment.

“Many patients stay in the unit for weeks, and sometimes months at a time, so I am pleased that following a year of intensive consultation, planning and building work we can now provide a comfortable environment where they can make the best recovery,” she said.

“We knew from consistent patient and community feedback that the Rehab Unit needed to be our next big focus.” 

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson was also on the receiving end of that feedback, and praised HNEH for committing to providing the improvements.

Mr Anderson said the next step in the process is to use the redeveloped hospital and improved Rehab Unit to attract and retain specialist staff.

“The community voice was loud and clear on this one,” he said.

“There is an old adage ‘build it and they will come’, the redeveloped hospital is state-of-the-art, and we are seeing the benefit of the recruitment of clinicians, staff specialists, doctors and nurses to this area now.

“I’m sure patients, their families and the hard working ward staff will appreciate these upgrades for years to come.”