7 November 2019
After years of advocating for a law—and more recently regulations that reflect that law—to protect the safety of remote area nurses and midwives, the ANMF (SA Branch) has welcomed the revised Gayle’s Law regulations gazetted today.
The new regulations close the loophole highlighted by the ANMF in the last set of regulations, prompting their disallowance by the Legislative Council last month.
The new regulations reflect the ANMF’s long-held position that the regulations
- ensure a second responder is used in all circumstances;
- broaden the potential persons who may be called upon as a second responder; and
- ensure that the obligations and duties of employers under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 are not reduced by the regulations.
We welcome the willingness of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing’s office to work with us in recent weeks to finalise an agreed way forward to overcome the concerns with the original regulations.
Today marks the resolution of a three-year campaign by the ANMF (SA Branch), and indeed Gayle Woodford’s family, to ensure the safety of health care practitioners is fully protected when they are providing much-needed care in remote area communities of South Australia.
We will continue to advocate for similar laws to apply nationally to all public and private providers.
A copy of the amended regulations can be viewed here.