District nursing — Otago and Southland
The District nursing service is a community-based service providing a wide range of care to patients in their own homes.
Contact and location information
District nurses are available:
- 8am to 10pm, every day in Dunedin and Invercargill
- 8am to 4:30pm, every day in Oamaru
- as required in rural areas.
Find contact and location details for district nurses near you on Healthpoint.
Services we provide
District nurses are qualified nurses who meet specific health needs in communities, making use of specialised nursing knowledge and assessment skills. The services include:
- wound care
- medications (excluding oral), including:
- subcutaneous or intramuscular injections
- subcutaneous infusions
- intravenous medications via a cannula or long-term venous access device
- others after discussion with the service
- bowel care
- urinary catheter care
- oncology — chemotherapy and radiotherapy care
- palliative and terminal care.
Southland district nurses
The Southland service supports patients in all rural areas, including:
- Lumsden
- Nightcaps
- Otautau
- Queenstown
- Riverton
- Stewart Island
- Te Anau
- Tokanui
- Winton.
The service also include nurse-led clinics at Stewart Island, Tokanui and Wyndham.
Dunedin district nurses
The Dunedin service supports patients in the greater Dunedin area, including Middlemarch and Palmerston.
This service is closely linked to Dunedin Hospital to help make sure patients are supported safely in the community after hospital discharge while also maintaining close liaison with local healthcare providers, hospices and residential facilities.
Oamaru district nurses
The Oamaru service is available to all people in the Waitaki District. It is based at Oamaru Hospital but extends to rural areas as required. After a referral from any health professional, a district nurse will visit people at home either as requested by their healthcare provider or after discharge from hospital for an assessment of their needs.
Non-urgent referrals are usually seen within 3 working days unless otherwise requested.
Urgent referrals are assessed within 24 hours.
Referral information
Southland referrals
We accept referrals from healthcare providers and hospital staff.
Healthcare providers send referrals in ERMS. All others email districtnursingsouthland@southerndhb.govt.nz
For the central point of phone contact for Southland (except Gore), call 03 214 7223
Dunedin referrals
We accept referrals through Consult Request, ERMS or by emailing districtnursesdunedin@southerndhb.govt.nz
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