Tributes to the nurse, 63, poured in yesterday, two days after he and colleague Emily Pritchard, 20, were stabbed while attending to a patient on the campus.

Mr Fenwick sustained wounds to his chest and arms and died early Thursday morning in Westmead Hospital.

Matthew Peter Loughrey, 33, a voluntary long-term patient at the hospital, has been charged with his murder.

Mr Fenwick had worked on and off as a mental health nurse since the 1970s and had been employed at Bloomfield Hospital since 2002.

“He was a beautiful man, an absolute gentleman and he loved his job,” said acting deputy director of nursing Helen McFarlane, who worked with Mr Fenwick on the hospital wards and as his unit manager.

“He took pride in everything he did and he loved to teach new staff what it was to work in mental health.”

Some 280 nurses, plus allied health and support staff, had to be informed of Mr Fenwick’s death on Thursday.

Staff have rallied since the incident, with several returning early from annual leave to volunteer their services to the hospital for free.

Colleagues have begun compiling a tribute book to Mr Fenwick, which they will give to his wife, Jan, and daughter.

Letters written by those who worked with him paint a picture of a much-loved and respected nurse, who’d earned the nickname Bob the Builder for his ability to fix squeaky wheelchairs.

The tributes describe him as a conversationalist and thinker, who had a cheeky sense of humour and got along with everybody.

“When Bob was on, you knew you were going to have a good shift, no matter how busy it was,” wrote one colleague, in an anonymous letter.

“He had a big heart and was always a gentleman and we will miss the man with the most beautiful Kris Kringle beard.”

Another letter described Mr Fenwick as “the last of the gentlemen” and thanked the senior nurse for his guidance during their first weeks as a nurse unit manager.

Jason Crisp, the acting area manager of mental health and drug and alcohol services for the Western NSW Local Health Network, described Mr Fenwick as “a go-to man” who was always looking for ways to do things better.

“If we needed someone to lead, he was the person we’d go to,” he said.

An investigation is underway into Mr Fenwick’s death.

Canobolas Local Area Command superintendent David Driver said the attack occurred while Mr Fenwick and Ms Pritchard were attending to another patient.

Supt Driver would not provide specific details on the incident because statements were still being taken from witnesses.

Paramedics said the attack happened in one of the hospital’s cottages and that Mr Fenwick had intervened to protect Ms Pritchard.

lisa.cox@ruralpress.com