Nurses and other health professionals in the Electorate of Parkes will benefit from the Federal Coalition Government’s investment in training and support for health professionals working in the bush, with more than $250,000 being provided to develop training to improve personal safety and security.  
The Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton, said the announcement of the Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia [CRANAplus] Remote Health Workforce Safety Training Project by Assistant Minister for Health Dr David Gillespie would provide additional support to health professionals to safely perform their roles. 
 “Safety and security of the remote health workforce is an important priority,” Mr Coulton said.
In 2016, in response to the murder of a Remote Area Nurse in the APY Lands, the Coalition Government provided additional funds of $240,000 to CRANAplus – the professional body for remote, isolated health – for resources to help address risks and protect safety and security. 
 “We are building on this with a further $254,000 for CRANAplus to develop specifically tailored training to help remote area health professionals identify and respond to potential or actual episodes of aggression,” Mr Coulton said.
Minister Gillespie said, “the remote health workforce is a small but essential part of Australia’s health system, delivering world-class frontline care to the 2.3 per cent of the population who live in remote or very remote areas.”
“Our nurses, midwives, doctors, dentists and allied health professionals provide care for sparse populations over vast distances, with isolation, poor infrastructure, and difficult climates the norm,” Dr Gillespie said.
This brings the Coalition Government’s total investment to $12.6 million over the three years to 2018 to enable CRANAplus to deliver training and professional support to health professionals working in remote areas.
This support includes the critical Bush Services Support Line which provides a free, confidential telephone support service for remote health professionals and their families.