Imagine you are a female care worker in western Queensland and you have to travel hours on your own to visit a remote home.
You would be vulnerable and yet only 17 per cent of carers across Australia have access to personal alarms and just 7 per cent have a GPS tracker fitted to their vehicle, a new report from remote health professional body CRANAplus says.
Another 25 per cent reported their accommodation was not safe and secure, with 10 per cent having had a break-in during the past 12 months.
Its remote area workplace safety and security survey also found that 25 per cent of Indigenous communities had no Aboriginal or Torres Straits Islander workers, which had a negative impact on nurses’ safety.
“RNs and others, were at increased risk because they frequently did not know the personality or background of community residents or visitors,” the report says. “They were also at increased risk as they were usually last to be aware of tensions in the community and the likelihood of violence.”
A series of assaults
CRANAplus initiated its research following the death of South Australian remote area nurse Gayle Woodford (pictured) in March 2016 and a series of assaults on outback nurses.
It’s now pushing for workers to be accompanied on call-outs and receive better training in risk assessment, communication and de-escalation skills.
The report also recommended clinics and accommodation be upgraded and all nurses be supplied with personal alarm systems and GPS trackers for vehicles.
However, it acknowledges budget cuts at some health services have left some operators unable to implement new safety measures for staff.
No plans for extra funding
Last month, we reported here on the Northern Territory’s plan to have remote area nurses accompanied by a community member on after-hours call-outs.
But as we highlighted, there were no details from the NT Government on how it planned to fund the extra staff and safety measures.
We have the technology available to protect these nurses so they can keep on doing their valuable work – will the Federal Government step up and foot the bill?
Check out the CRANAplus report for yourself here.
