The risk facing health professionals

Many health workers in Botswana have at some point been exposed to various infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C through accidental pricks and cuts from contaminated needles and sharp objects and even splashes from infected bodily fluids from patients or even airborne exposure in the case of Tuberculosis and other airborne diseases. Unfortunately, these diseases infect some of them after exposure in the workplace.

For a long time, there has been a severe shortage of health workers in Botswana’s health care system particularly; doctors and nurses. This shortage has led to nurses multitasking by doing the job of different health professionals such as pharmacists, doctors and phlebotomists. Nurses in our health care system have had to work for very long hours even beyond the time stipulated by labour laws.  Likewise, because of their short supply locally, doctors have had to work under extremely demanding conditions without adequate rest and recuperation.