‘Gayle’s Law’ could make it illegal for nurses to attend call-outs solo

A proposed law named after slain South Australian outback nurse Gayle Woodford could make it illegal for healthcare workers to attend call-outs alone.

Mrs Woodford's body was found in a crude grave in South Australia's north three days after she went missing from her Fregon home in March last year.

The 56-year-old had worked in the Fregon community health clinic.

Today the beloved nurse’s killer, Dudley Davey, lost a bid to have his 32-year jail sentence reduced.

The decision came as a great relief for Mrs Woodford's husband Keith, who said he had come to court today not expecting Davey's appeal to be rejected.

"I'm just numb. I was expecting the worst and got the best," he said.

Mr Woodford said the decision his family move on, and get to work on preparing Gayle’s Law to be introduced to state parliament later this month.

The bill, which would make it illegal for remote healthcare workers to attend call-outs alone, has garnered bi-partisan support.

“Both sides of parliament have passed it, so hopefully it’s going to be a formality,” Mr Woodford said.

In June, Justice Ann Vanstone said that Davey had chosen Mrs Woodford as an "easy target, vulnerable because of her empathy".

"This was a cold-blooded killing of a woman who had worked with skill and compassion in your community," the judge said.

She said Davey's offending was "callous in the extreme" and at the higher end of the scale for rape and murder.

When she imposed her sentence in June, Justice Ann Vanstone said Davey was a drug addict and serial offender, who had an "abnormal desire to rape women".

Davey had argued that he wasn't given a big enough discount on his non-parole period for pleading guilty to raping and killing the 53-year-old.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously dismissed his challenge ordering the minimum term stand.

In his reasons for rejecting the appeal today, Chief Justice Chris Kourakis said a shorter sentence would fail to impose the right level of punishment and condemnation for an offence that was at the higher end of the range.

"Moreover, the (shorter) sentence would not apply the necessary personal deterrence for an offender with Mr Davey's strong proclivity for dangerous offending," Justice Kourakis said.

"The non-parole period was not excessive."

With AAP

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