Clinic and accommodation alarms should be upgraded and personal alarms considered to keep remote health workers safe, a report has found. The peak body representing remote health workers investigated safety concerns following the death of South Australian outback nurse Gayle Woodford in 2016. CRANAplus says staff should be accompanied on call-outs and at other times where risks have been identified, and should be better-educated about safety issues. It’s investigation also identified the lack of indigenous clinic staff as having a negative impact on the services available in remote communities and on the safety of nurses and other health workers. “Remote area nurses and other health staff were at increased risk because they frequently did not know the personality or background of community residents or visitors,” the report said. “They were also at increased risk at times, as they were usually last to be aware of tensions in the community and the likelihood of violence.”
