A senior outback doctor has broken down during a federal health inquiry, saying it's a "scandal" there is not enough funding to protect his staff six years after the abduction and murder of a colleague.
Nurse Gayle Woodford was murdered in the remote community of Fregon, in the APY lands in South Australia, after being tricked into opening a security gate around her home while on-call overnight in March 2016.
Dudley Davey, who had a long history of violent crimes, pleaded guilty to her murder and rape and is serving a minimum 32-year jail term.
The SA government later passed Gayle's Law, ensuring outback health workers are always accompanied by a support person on unscheduled or after-hours call-outs.
Dr Martin Kelly, the senior medical officer at Nganampa Health Council, which employed Ms Woodford, said the SA government has not funded the support worker program, while federal government funding is inadequate.
"It is a scandal, quite frankly," Dr Kelly told the Senate inquiry into the provision of GP and primary health services in regional, rural and remote Australia in Whyalla on Tuesday.
Dr Kelly, who has worked in the indigenous Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands for more than 20 years, spoke with deep emotion throughout his 30 minute evidence, his voice quivering while he recalled the death of his good friend and colleague.
"I was one of the last Nganampa people to talk to her, when she was on call, and I sat with her family for the four days over Easter until her body was found."
Dr Kelly said the safety of Nganampa staff is critical. The health service has been absorbing the annual $300,000 shortfall to employ the support workers, putting its clinical operations at risk.
"We've managed to keep all our clinics open in all that time with not enough money to do it," he said.
Many Nganampa staff work long hours, seven days a week, a workload that has intensified during the pandemic.
Telehealth and after-hours phone services can only do so much in a remote setting, Dr Kelly said.
"It's not enough, you still need people on the ground to put a stethoscope on people's chests. Sometimes you need to hold people's hands as well.
"The system is stretched beyond what is reasonable to expect and we're being asked to do more and more with less and less."
He said indigenous health should be a critical concern for all governments.
"I've been here for more than 20 years, and the median age of indigenous people on the APY lands is about 21.
"So half the people who live on the land, I've known since they were born. They matter quite a lot to me."
