Health advocate would like rehab services to be priority at Finley hospital to end Albury travel

That's the opinion of Finley Local Health Advisory Committee chairman Syd Dudley who has long sought to advance the hospital.

He said it made sense to form a rehabilitation hub at the hospital and he believes if a modern set-up was created it would attract professionals to staff it.

"We've been pushing for a rehab centre for quite awhile because as it is now we've got people have to travel to Albury often for rehab and that's just a pain," Mr Dudley said.

The NSW government's announcement of $25 million for Finley sparked questions and some dismay at Deniliquin which is battling to have its rundown hospital replaced or upgraded.

Mr Dudley declined to comment on that response but said he was "completely surprised to be honest" by the funding before adding "we had been pushing for 10 years at least for the revamp of the site".

Berrigan Shire mayor and Finley resident Matt Hannan said Mr Dudley had been advocating for hospital improvements for 10 to 15 years.

"I don't think Finley hospital and the community of Berrigan Shire have done anything outwardly awry to discredit any other community," Cr Hannan said.

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"It's a wonderful achievement for the Finley and district area and a lot of hard work has been put in over a long period of time to achieve that funding."

Cr Hannan declined to say what he believed the $25 million should be spent on.

The Murrumbidgee Local Health District, which manages the hospital, plans to consult with the local community before deciding how the kitty should be outlaid.

"It's an old footprint, it's 1960s architecture and we were gutted here 25 years ago and lot of the space was made redundant," Mr Dudley said of the hospital.

"We've got a 16-bed facility, we used to have a 40-bed facility."

It runs around-the-clock with a roster of local doctors to provide emergency services.

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