Bringing Care Home: The Critical Role of District Nursing
In a region defined by distance, community, and rugged landscapes, healthcare looks a little different. For many people in Central Otago, the most important care they’ll receive doesn’t happen inside a hospital, it happens at home.
Dunstan Hospital’s District Nursing Service is one of the quiet powerhouses of rural health. Every day, nurses step into cars rather than wards, traveling to living rooms, farm cottages, retirement units, and remote homes to provide safe, skilled care where people feel most comfortable. Their work prevents hospital admissions, supports recovery, and upholds independence. It is a service that often flies under the radar, yet its impact can be life-changing.
Care Beyond the Hospital Walls
District nursing brings clinical care into the heart of the community. Patients are referred by a GP, hospital team, or other health practitioner, and the service is carefully triaged to ensure that home-based care is appropriate. Once accepted, patients are welcomed with information and direct contact details, and visits are arranged via phone or text — a simple process that eases stress during vulnerable times. The ability to receive care at home can prevent unnecessary hospital stays and keep beds free for those who need them most.
The geographical footprint of this service is vast. Nurses regularly travel through Alexandra, Clyde, Ōmakau, St Bathans, Cromwell, Tarras, Wānaka, Hāwea, Makarora, and far beyond — adapting to weather, distance, and terrain. The sheer spread of the region makes the District Nursing Service not simply helpful, but essential.
Skilled Hands, Compassionate Hearts
The clinical capability of the team rivals what many would expect inside a hospital. District nurses care for complex wounds, manage negative-pressure therapies, oversee compression and catheter care, support patients with PICC lines and PORT devices, administer IV medications, and provide domiciliary oxygen. Importantly, they are also specialists in palliative and end-of-life care — an area where dignity, comfort, and compassion matter deeply.
But their role extends beyond the technical. Nurses take time to teach families how to change dressings, prepare medications, or provide comfort as a loved one nears the end of life. When families feel confident and supported, patients feel safer — and often more at peace.
Connected Care
Behind every home visit is a web of communication. District nurses coordinate with GPs, specialists, and hospital teams, sharing information through email, phone calls, and messaging so that every patient’s care plan is clear, timely, and aligned. These relationships are built on respect and collaboration — the kind that only grows from years of working closely within a tight-knit region.
Over time, district nurses often become familiar faces in the weekly rhythm of a household. For many, this continuity is grounding during recovery, illness, or uncertainty.
What a First Visit Feels Like
When a district nurse arrives for the first time, they introduce themselves slowly and clearly, offering the patient a chance to ask questions and get comfortable. They complete an initial assessment, taking into account not only clinical needs but cultural and spiritual considerations. Together, nurse and patient set goals — small, achievable steps toward feeling better. From there, they develop a plan tailored to that person’s health, preferences, family structure, and environment.
It is care shaped around the person, not the other way around.
A Team Rooted in Community
The District Nursing Service is made up of 13 permanent nurses and three casual team members based across the Dunstan and Wānaka sites. Among them is a Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, whose expertise supports some of the most vulnerable people in our region. Many nurses have worked in the service for over 15 years; others bring experience from district nursing roles elsewhere in Aotearoa. What binds them is a shared sense of privilege. Entering someone’s home to provide care is intimate work — and the team never forgets the trust that requires. Q&A DN service questionnaire
Most district nurses are locals themselves. They know the back roads, the family names, the weather patterns, the isolated pockets, and the community stories. That local knowledge, paired with clinical skill, creates a unique form of care — one grounded in respect and understanding.
A Day on the Road
A district nurse’s day rarely looks the same twice. Each morning begins with planning routes and checking equipment. Nurses then contact patients to confirm visit times before heading out. Between visits, notes are documented, referrals are made, and specialists are chased for updates. At the end of the day, there are messages to return, care plans to adjust, and preparations to make for tomorrow’s journeys. The work is mobile, adaptive, and deeply human.
What the Community Values Most
Ask patients or families what district nursing means, and you’ll hear about punctuality, high standards, and the quiet reassurance of seeing the same nurse week after week. Over time, these relationships become meaningful — sometimes tender — and stories are shared between dressing changes and medication checks. The presence of a district nurse can turn anxiety into confidence, and isolation into connection.
Evolving to Meet Local Needs
The service continues to grow in response to our region’s changing health landscape. A recent milestone is the introduction of a monthly Vascular Nurse Specialist clinic, providing vital assessment and support closer to home. In rural healthcare, innovations like this mean fewer long journeys, faster intervention, and better outcomes for patients managing complex conditions.
How to Engage the Service
The District Nursing Service operates seven days a week, from 8:00am to 4:30pm. To access care, a referral must come from a healthcare provider such as a GP or hospital team. Once accepted, patients are given an information booklet with contact details, and the Charge Nurse Manager is available to support questions outside of scheduled visits.
Essential, Quiet, and Profound
In urban centres, hospital care is often only minutes away. Here, distance can be a barrier. Transport can be difficult. Family support isn’t always available. For many, illness makes leaving home unsafe.
District nurses bridge that gap.
They bring healthcare to the doorstep, safeguard independence, ease pressure on hospital services, and support people and whānau with dignity and compassion.
They are, quietly and consistently, one of the most critical arms of healthcare in our region.
Our People. Our Place. Our Patients.