Modise said at a press briefing this week that what doctors are doing is illegal and called on all those who have been working beyond a single call to continue doing so. On April 6, BDU decided to embark on minimum service provision for emergency call across the country. They announced that they had on April 3, 2025 given government 72 hours to engage and finalise emergency call to ensure non-disruption of health service provision across the public healthcare fraternity. But the employer party did not heed the call, engage or even respond, thus giving the impression of a none caring partner. BDU would as of April 7, 2025, in what they termed protecting its members against exploitation by the government of Botswana by doing one emergency call per month that will equate to 24 hours.
Doctors were also to ensure minimum staff availability per hospital per call and where there is no coverage, the employer party would use the public-private-partnership at their discretion. Government has since whisked BDU before the Industrial Court accusing them of inciting a strike. ”No member doctor shall be allowed to do more work than stipulated; doctors' overtime will not be applied to cover for emergency call needs; we expect that our members will not be harassed by other doctors in management across facilities; any system issues arising from this shall be addressed by the employer party; until there is a resolution of emergency call, we expect cooperation from our partner and understanding from the public,” they wrote Modise started off by assuring the nation that as the Ministry of Health, and indeed the new administration, they are determined to ensure that every Motswana and resident of the country, receives quality health care services regardless of who they are and where they live. He said they desired to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) such that every Motswana who should receive medical services receives them any time and at any day they need such services. “I am confident that working together, as we should, with all stakeholders, we will be able to achieve this,” he said.
