Kurri Hospital won the Hospital Performance Award for Best Performance for 2007-08, Smaller Rural District Hospitals.

NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, said “The NSW Health Awards provide an opportunity to thank all health staff for their outstanding contribution to the wellbeing of the community.”

“The NSW Health Awards highlight the talent and passion of health care workers who have developed initiatives to improve the quality of care delivered to patients, the health of the population and performance of the health system in NSW.

“Not only do the awards recognise hardworking health professionals, including doctors and nurses, they also facilitate the sharing of information and knowledge across the entire health system.”

Hunter New England Health – Lower Hunter Cluster general manager, Yvonne Patricks said the award was reflective of the hard work and commitment of the staff at Kurri Hospital.

Kurri Hospital acting health services manager, Julianne Clift, added that it was great that the hospital was reaching the NSW benchmarks, and that it is good for the community.

Hunter New England Health Chief Executive, Dr. Nigel Lyons said the region was also successful in picking up a number of 2008 NSW Health Performance Awards.

“These achievements reaffirm that staff are always thinking about ways to improve services to our communities,” Dr. Lyons said.