Before the NHS was formed in 1948, District Nursing Associations (“DNA”) took responsibility for employing, paying and housing district nurses. In the 1930’s many DNAs began building modern houses for their nurses. This includes Killin DNA which built a house for its district nurse in 1935.
Stirling Council Archives holds the architectural drawings for the house in its collections. The plans were drawn up by local architect, R. Cameron Haddow. This house was purely designed to provide a home for the nurse, but other houses built included district rooms where patients could be seen outside their home. Typically, district nurses were unmarried women at this time. The Killin house has two bedrooms. It is not known if this was to accommodate family or to allow room for a relief nurse.
The house was built by Lyon Road, in the village of Killin. Nurse C. Buchanan was the first district nurse to live there. When the NHS was formed, district nursing became their responsibility and Killin DNA sold the house to the NHS. The house still exists today, but has been extended and is now used by the NHS as Killin Medical Practice.
The Killin DNA continued to operate as a charity. They invested the money from the house sale and used the funds to help the sick, aged and infirm.
