A public health expert, Professor Alero Roberts, has warned that imposing criminal penalties on health workers who fail to attend to emergency patients will not resolve Nigeria’s healthcare challenges without improvements in hospital facilities, staffing and working conditions.
Speaking on Nigeria Info FM's Morning Crossfire with Kofi Bartels, Roberts—a professor of community medicine at the University of Lagos College of Medicine and an honorary consultant at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital—made the observation regarding a proposed amendment to the National Health Act 2014.
The proposed legislation, which has passed second reading in the Senate, seeks to establish stricter timelines for emergency medical attention and introduce tougher penalties for healthcare providers and facilities that violate the requirements.
Under the proposed amendment, hospitals would be required to begin the initial assessment and triage of emergency patients within 15 minutes of arrival, commence basic stabilisation within 30 minutes and immediately initiate life-saving interventions when a life-threatening condition is identified.
Healthcare providers and facilities found guilty of violating the proposed provisions could face a fine of up to 300,000 naira, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.
Roberts described the bill as timely, saying it had brought attention to significant gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system and the preventable deaths resulting from them.
She, however, cautioned against holding doctors and nurses solely responsible when hospitals lack the resources needed to provide emergency treatment.
Using the example of a patient who needs urgent medical attention, she said health workers could be unable to provide basic interventions because essential supplies and equipment were unavailable.
Roberts questioned how a doctor or nurse could be expected to stabilise a patient without intravenous fluids, giving sets or readily available oxygen.
She warned that imprisoning health workers in such circumstances could further worsen staffing shortages in hospitals.
The physician also highlighted the shortage of trained healthcare professionals, calling for the recruitment and retention of qualified doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and medical laboratory scientists.
She said healthcare workers needed adequate remuneration and working conditions that would allow them to perform their duties effectively.
Roberts also stressed that medical professionals must remain accountable when they have the necessary resources to provide care but deliberately fail to do so.
She said healthcare workers were bound by their professional responsibilities and the Hippocratic oath, but argued that accountability must also consider the circumstances in which they work.
The proposed amendment is sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar'Adua, representing Katsina Central Senatorial District.
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