23 March 2023
Today, March 23, is the seventh anniversary of the tragic death of dedicated remote area nurse Gayle Woodford.
Today we honour the memory of Ms Woodford who was murdered while working on-call in the small APY lands community of Kaltjiti (Fregon).
Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Ms Woodford’s devoted family her untimely death would ultimately lead to new legislation to protect nurses working in remote areas – a cause also championed by the ANMF (SA Branch).
State Parliament passed Gayle’s Law in November 2019, which legislated that no remote area health professional attend after-hours emergency callouts alone.
In April, 2021, the Deputy State Coroner recommended that this be extended to nurses being accompanied on-call at any time.
Meanwhile, the ANMF (SA Branch) is continuing to advocate for legislation that provides unions with the power to act against employers who fail to ensure the safety, health and welfare of workers.
In the case of Ms Woodford, SafeWork SA decided not to prosecute employer Nguanampa Health Council following a 12-month investigation.
ANMF (SA Branch) will continue to advocate for a fully-funded and active SafeWork SA – one that is a capable and effective regulator in the industry, willing and able to take action to address safety issues in the workplace and prosecute safety breaches when they do occur.