Be cautious on the road‚ there is a shortage of nurses - DENOSA

Road users over Easter have been urged to drive cautiously and avoid getting into accidents as there is a dire shortage of nurses.

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA reminded South Africans in a statement that a severe shortage of health workers in the country was still a sad reality and that many deaths on the country’s roads were often the result of excessive bleeding and the long time it took for patients to receive medical attention owing to this shortage.

“As travellers will make their way to various destinations for the Easter weekend‚ the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) would like to urge all citizens to drive cautiously on the road‚ observe and obey rules of the road and rest whenever they get tired because there may be fewer nurses in areas where they are travelling‚” the organisation’s communications intern‚ Gopolang Maku‚ said.

Maku said most accidents occurred in semi-rural and remote areas and often in the evening or early morning‚ and that health facilities in those areas were often not ready to deal with the large volume of patients sometimes involved in accidents.

“DENOSA would like to encourage drivers to drink water at regular intervals‚ check their tyres and general conditions of their vehicles before embarking on their journey and be more collaborative on the road at all times‚” Maku said.