this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . august 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . august 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message rdns type charity industry nursing healthcare founded 1885 headquarters melbourne australia website http www.rdns.com.au rdns royal district nursing service was founded in 1885 . rdns is a not for profit charity in australia which provides home nursing and healthcare to people throughout metro melbourne parts of regional victoria new south wales south australia queensland tasmania western australia the north island of new zealand and the provinces of otago and southland in the south island of new zealand . 1 fast facts rdns provides a range of healthcare services including general and specialist nursing services to people in their homes and into seniors villages a range of programs supporting people with chronic diseases such as diabetes programs that reduce hospital length of stay in home cancer management and complex technical nursing services training and education programs . mobile telehealth contents 1 history 2 service today 2.1 rdns homecare and rally homecare 2.2 rdns new zealand 2.3 rdns institute 3 references history edit the melbourne district nursing society began in 1885 with a single nurse visiting the homes of the sick and poor to provide compassionate nursing care . with no other nursing service of its kind support for the newfound form of healthcare grew . as a result by 1892 more staff were employed to cope with demands and the organisation implemented its own midwifery service . 2 in 1898 a meeting was held in the local town hall and it was decided to start a collingwood branch of the melbourne district nursing society . 3 first district nurses in melbourne by 1906 the organisation had extended its healthcare service to the outer suburbs of melbourne and employed the use of bicycles to efficiently travel around the city . this form of transportation enabled district nurses to reach more clients more quickly over a wider geographical area . 2 the great war saw the onset of 1919 influenza epidemic and placed increasing pressure on the organisation to service more and more clientele . to expedite the amount of clients treated the organisation invested in its first motor car which would later become an integral identifier of the modern day rdns brand . 2 following the opening of an aftercare hospital in 1926 the organisation extended its care to mothers and infants by opening melbourne s first well baby clinic which later became a motivating factor in the development of victoria s first family planning clinic . 2 like the great war world war ii increased the demand for services and the organisation s type of clientele soon became anyone who had a genuine nursing need regardless of age condition or circumstance . with the expanded need for services the organisation decentralised its business by opening its first suburban centre in camberwell . 4 in the 1980s rdns began to provide post acute care treatments for hiv aids cystic fibrosis and other chronic treatments care which had previously been confined to hospitals but could now be administered in the home . 2 the hiv program became integrated with the victorian aids council s vac hiv services in the early 1990s and this relationship has endured for 25 years . 5 volunteers and paid workers through vac provide practical assistance and social support and the rdns nurses provide care coordination and professional nursing care for people living with hiv in the community . the rdns hiv program joined with the rdns homeless person s program in 2015 . demand for rdns services has continued to grow strongly year on year with 2012 seeing the most number of visits ever provided 1 962 179 . service today edit rdns provides a 24 hour home nursing and homecare service to the people throughout australia . rdns homecare and rally homecare edit rally homecare provides community nursing and home care to older australians war veterans and widows people with disabilities and others in the privacy of people s own home . rdns new zealand edit rdns nz is a not for profit organisation which provides health and homecare across new zealand . rdns institute edit the rdns institute works to promote excellence in community health through education research and clinical practice . references edit herald sun january 21 2015 a b c d e rdns how we began . retrieved 2008 01 10 . collingwood district nursing society . mercury and weekly courier vic . 1878 1903 23 sep 1898 . trove . retrieved 2016 04 02 . rdns annual report 2005 p. 8 . afao australian federation of aids organisations . unlikely bedfellows an enduring relationship between two organisations . www.afao.org.au . retrieved 2016 04 02 . nursing portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title royal district nursing service victoria & oldid 715446497 categories nursing organizationsmedical and health organisations based in australiahidden categories wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from august 2011articles with a promotional tone from august 2011all articles with a promotional tonepages using infobox company with unsupported parametersuse dmy dates from august 2011 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces 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