The Nigerian Senate is considering a bill that seeks to punish hospitals and healthcare providers who refuse to attend to patients requiring emergency medical treatment, with offenders facing up to six months imprisonment, a ₦300,000 fine, or both.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, is designed to improve emergency healthcare delivery across the country by ensuring prompt medical attention, strengthening the training of healthcare professionals and establishing better patient referral procedures.
Under the proposed law, public and private hospitals would be required to assess patients arriving with medical emergencies within 15 minutes and commence initial stabilisation within 30 minutes.
The bill also mandates healthcare facilities to provide immediate medical interventions once they identify life-threatening conditions. Such interventions include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), airway management and measures to control severe bleeding.
It further proposes that hospitals should provide admission beds for emergency patients within two hours, subject to availability.
Where a facility has no available bed, the hospital would be required to stabilise the patient and initiate arrangements for transfer to another healthcare facility within two hours or as soon as the patient becomes medically fit for transportation.
The proposed legislation also stipulates that ambulance services or alternative transportation arrangements should commence within 30 minutes to facilitate the transfer of patients.
In addition, the bill seeks to strengthen the professional capacity of healthcare workers through mandatory emergency care training and certification.
It proposes that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria develop a national emergency care curriculum. Healthcare professionals would also be required to undergo relevant training and obtain certification at least once every 18 months.
The legislation is particularly aimed at addressing the persistent practice of hospitals turning away patients in critical conditions because they cannot afford immediate payment or lack a police report.
Such incidents have raised concerns about emergency healthcare access in Nigeria, with cases of patients allegedly losing their lives after being denied timely medical attention.
If passed into law, the bill would establish clearer obligations for healthcare facilities and introduce legal consequences for providers who fail to deliver emergency treatment as required.
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