Regulations aimed at ensuring the safety of remote nurses in South Australia have been overturned after being criticised by nurses and the family of murdered outback nurse Gayle Woodford.
It means Health Minister Stephen Wade has been sent back to the drawing board to develop new regulations for unscheduled or after-hours call-outs for nurses in remote areas.
Gayle's Law — named after nurse Gayle Woodford, who was murdered in the remote APY Lands in 2016 when she responded to someone calling for help — came into effect in July.
However, nurses and the family of Ms Woodford criticised the regulations under the law, saying they undermined the intent of the laws and would create a loophole.
The regulations permitted remote health workers to attend call-outs unattended if they completed a risk assessment.
SA Best, Labor and the Greens last night voted together to disallow the regulations.
In a bid to stave off the disallowance, Mr Wade had already promised to consult the Woodford family and produce new regulations within a month.
Mr Wade warned non-government politicians against disallowing the rules, because it would also disallow other important parts of the law.
"For that one-month period Gayle's Law will not apply in the District Council of Coober Pedy or the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs," Mr Wade told Parliament.
"For that one-month period second responders engaged under Gayle's Law will not have to hold a drivers licence, nor will they have to hold a current working with children safety check.
"If any such harm should occur the people of South Australia will be right to hold to account those members of this council who support the disallowance of the current regulations."
'Ample opportunity' to get regulations right
SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros — who moved the disallowance motion — hit back, saying it was the Government's responsibility to get the regulations right.
"Something did happen to Gayle Woodford. She did a risk assessment and she's dead," Ms Bonaros told Parliament.
"She was raped and she was murdered, and she had undertaken a self risk assessment.
"The Minister does have some nerve to come in here and tell us that we will be responsible if something were to happen to another frontline officer, until they get these regulations right.
"You've had ample opportunity to get these regulations right, and you've failed to do so."
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation welcomed Parliament striking down the regulations.
"We were absolutely appalled when the regulations were put forward, because we believe that they absolutely undermine the principle underlying Gayle's Law," SA branch president Elizabeth Dabars said.
"To disallow those regulations now is a real step in the right direction, to say that those regulations are not good enough.
"We think it's really disingenuous to assert that in the absence of those regulations the situation is worse.
"We actually believe the situation is worse with the regulations."
