[Royal District Nursing Service TV Ad]

The Royal District Nursing Service was founded in 1885 and was originally called the Melbourne District Nursing Service. An initiative led by the Reverend Charles Strong, the organisation was established to nurse the sick, poor and disadvantaged in their own homes. By the early 1920s the nurses were treating 25,000 patients per year and had established a convalescent institution, the After-Care Home (later Hospital) in Collingwood. In 1966 the organisation became the Royal District Nursing Service.
This television advertisement is an appeal for donations to the Royal District Nursing Service. Filmed in black and white, the advertisement shows a nurse visiting various patients in the community, including babies, the elderly, disabled and blind. A voiceover describes the valuable contribution the nurses make to the community, with over 300,000 visits per year - enough patients to fill the largest public hospital.