A survey at Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City found over 30 percent of doctors and nurses have been splashed in the eyes or mouth during operating room slip-ups while 25 percent have been stabbed with needles. Also, health workers aren't often told when a patient has HIV/AIDS or hepatitis B, according to the report.

According to trade union figures, 300 health workers nationwide have been infected with HIV while treating patients with the deadly virus.

Senior health officials said the problems are rooted in substandard safety procedures and a shortage of cash.

It wasn't until 2002 that health workers received protective glasses. Masks were only made widely available after the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Even then, there were not enough to go around; workers who were left without received VND69,000 (US$4) as compensation. Four years ago, a doctor and two nurses in Vietnam-France Hospital died from SARS they contracted on the job.

A doctor with 25 years experience at Huu Nghi Hospital said occupational diseases are a regular occurrence, though most health workers have come to accept the risks as part of saving lives.

The survey has revealed that just 36 percent of the 1,000 medical workers at HCM City's Cho Ray Hospital have received hepatitis B vaccinations. About 60 percent of them regularly deal with patients in critical conditions and their blood.

The report said many workers have contracted diseases like hepatitis B, tuberculosis and leprosy. Union officials have asked for compensation, but insurance payouts from district-level hospitals and health centres have been irregular.