The donation follows their success as part of a Country Energy state-wide competition to measure performance against a range of productivity, safety and customer service goals.

The local team was one of 11 Mid North Coast FSCs successful in claiming the inter-regional prize for largest average improvement measured against Country Energy FSCs, giving them the opportunity to choose a local charity to donate too.

Auxiliary president Bev Irwin said the volunteer group was very grateful for the donation.

“After discussions with hospital management and staff we have decided to install air conditioning in the enclosed front verandah,” Mrs Irwin said.

“The room, where patients enjoy having their morning and afternoon teas looking over the township, suffers from extremes of temperature in summer and winter.

“It gets extremely cold in winter and then very hot in summer, so this air conditioning will cover the whole room.

“It will benefit all the patients and staff of the hospital.”

Regional general manager Brian Mclean described the achievement for the region as outstanding, but explained that the ultimate winners are the local residents in Dungog.

“The main aim of the initiative is to encourage staff to find better ways to serve our customers, whether that be through increased productivity, raising the bar even further in regard to safety or exceeding customer expectations regarding response times,” he said.

“It provides an opportunity to recognise employees’ hard work and dedication while promoting teamwork and local pride.

“It’s also aimed at identifying opportunities for improvement and encouraging ideas sharing and friendly competition.

“The Dungog team had been working extremely hard to secure this donation opportunity and I know that they are all really proud of their team’s achievements.

“It is also fantastic to see them choose such a worthwhile charity to receive the prize.”