A $350,000 funding boost will expand rehabilitation services in in the Hunter, with the state government saying the investment will help keep patients out of hospital and allow more people to recover at home.
The funding, announced as part of the 2026-27 NSW budget, will expand the Hunter New England Local Health District's Rehab In The Home service across the growing Lake Macquarie region.
The program provides eligible patients with rehabilitation and recovery care in their homes or residential aged care facilities, reducing the need for hospital visits and travel to appointments.
The expanded service will include community orthopaedic rehabilitation and discharge support for patients returning home from hospitals on the Central Coast.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper had advocated for the expansion "for a long period of time".
"Rehab in the home is all about keeping people out of hospital and getting care to them either in their residential home or in their aged care facility," Mr Park said.
"We know that people fare better, and their treatment is better and more productive the closer we can do that to their own facility, whether that's a home or residential aged care facility."
Mr Park said the funding would be particularly important for older people, people with disability and those living with multiple chronic health conditions.
"We think it'll make the difference to the way in which we provide care to elderly people, people with a disability, and people with multi chronic health conditions," he said.
The expansion follows the rollout of nurse practitioner-led wound care, continence and aged care outreach clinics in southern Lake Macquarie in early 2025.
The government says those services have experienced increasing demand as the population in the area continues to grow.
Mr Piper said residents had been calling for more healthcare services to be provided closer to home.
"People in southern Lake Macquarie have told us they want access to more services closer to home, and this investment is a direct response to that need," he said.
The additional funding is also expected to support earlier discharge from hospital and provide patients with rehabilitation support in their communities.
For residents with mobility difficulties, disability or other barriers to travelling, the government says receiving care at home could reduce the physical and psychological strain associated with hospital and outpatient appointments.
The $350,000 investment forms part of a $10.3 billion increase to NSW health funding in the 2026-27 Budget.
Mr Park said the broader investment was aimed at addressing pressure on hospitals and health services as the population aged.
The government says southern Lake Macquarie is among the region's fastest-growing areas, increasing demand for local healthcare services.
Mr Park said expanding community-based care was one way of responding to that growth.
"We're trying to do our best to increase rural and regional healthcare facilities across the board, as well as increase rural and regional healthcare staff," he said.
"We're trying to do that multiple ways. Record investment in our hospitals, record investment in our regional healthcare staff, as well as providing incentives."
