ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relative impact of regional demography and local community on the working experience of district nurses. We introduce the urban-rural split that was and remains particularly evident in British district nursing. Although in theory district nursing practice adhered to strict standards, the conditions of work varied widely between nursing situations, most notably between those of the city and rural areas, with remote or island districts providing the most extreme examples. The picture used on the front cover of a 1964 recruitment leaflet (see Figure 5.1) depicts two quite different lifestyles: on the left, the modern, industrial urban setting with its factory chimneys and back-to-back houses, and on the right, an idyllic rural image reminiscent of a previous century. The district nurse transcends both.
