Question

Can nurses who are HIV positive continue working?

Should nurses who are HIV positive stop practicing? What about other health care providers?

Answer

There is no reason why the HIV status of the vast majority of healthcare providers should have any impact on their job. There are HIV positive nurses, doctors, pharmacists, GPs and other healthcare workers, just as there are HIV positive cleaners, teachers, bus drivers, police officers and nearly every other trade and profession.

Exceptions for employment issues only occur when there is a direct risk of transmitting HIV and usually a risk of blood-to-blood contact. This is not the case for most nurses.

Examples where HIV status can be an issue in healthcare include surgeons and dentists, who could put a patient at risk for HIV (or hepatitis B or C, or TB) transmission.

An assessment of risks by healthcare job, including recommending whether different HIV-positive healthcare workers should treat patients in England is included in Annex B of the Department of Health booklet:
‘Health clearance for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV: New healthcare workers’

A similar list for Scotland is at this link:
Scottish recommendations for HIV-positive healthcare workers

There are plenty of examples of HIV positive nurses and doctors, and no reported cases of this leading to HIV transmission to HIV-negative patients.

75 comments

  1. Josh Peasegood

    Hi Sylvia, Germany does not have any specific restrictions for people living with HIV. Please see here for more information: https://www.hivtravel.org/Default.aspx?PageId=143&CountryId=74

    As i-base is a UK based HIV treatment charity, we have no further information about Germany than from this website.

  2. Sylvia

    Hallo,im Sylvia, from kenya.does the German government offer job opportunities for nurses living with hiv,and if yes how do they operate at their places of work, and how does one access the regular medical check up and refill?

  3. Simon Collins

    Dear Afia, i-base is in the UK and HIV status is not relevant to working as a nurse here. Please contct group in Canada though for info there.

  4. Afia

    Can people living with HIV work as a care assistant in UK and Canada?

  5. Simon Collins

    Hi Afia, please can you give me more details on what you are asking about?

  6. Afia

    Ok what about uk

  7. Josh Peasegood

    Hi Lea, if the person is comfortable to work and they are working within their employment policies, they would be okay to continue working.

  8. Lea

    What if the nurse with HIV dropped his t cells count tocthe lowest level and became underwieght. Is the person can still work?

  9. Josh Peasegood

    Hi Mark, i-base is UK based. I am unsure of regulations for shipping ARVs into the US. Are you able to contact a local HIV charity where you are living? or your local American embassy to ask about this?

  10. Mark

    Is it allowed to ship ARVs from the Philippines to the US?

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