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Husband to push for 'Gayle's Law'

The husband of murdered nurses Gayle Woodford is campaigning for greater protections for remote area nurses and other health workers.

Woodford family speak on Davey sentence

2 min read

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Source: AAP


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Keith Woodford has vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to ensuring the safety of outback nurses in memory of his wife who was murdered while working on South Australia's indigenous lands.

Gayle Woodford, 56, was brutally raped and murdered by Dudley Davey in March last year after being lured away from her home at Fregon, in SA's north.

Davey, 35, was jailed for at least 32 years on Thursday with a judge describing his offending as "cold-blooded" and "callous in the extreme".

Mrs Woodford's death has sparked a wider debate over the safety of outback nurses and other workers with calls for legislation to end single shifts and solo call-outs, which has become known as "Gayle's Law".

A tearful Mr Woodford said his wife was dedicated to the people of Fregon.

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"As to the future, I'm going to devote my life to the loving memory of Gayle by supporting the welfare of all nurses working in regional and remote areas," he told reporters after Davey was sentenced.

"I will do whatever is necessary to apply public pressure on governments, health authorities to implement Gayle's Law.

"We must act to adequately protect nurses and medical staff in remote areas to ensure the crime that took Gayle away from us will never be allowed to happen again."

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has thrown its support behind the push for law reform along with Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore, a member of the Nick Xenophon Group.

In January a report from the peak body representing remote health workers also called for staff to be accompanied on all call-outs along with upgrades to clinic, accommodation and personal alarms.


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