The Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency healthcare system by imposing stricter obligations on hospitals and healthcare workers, including sanctions for facilities that refuse or delay emergency treatment.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, representing Katsina Central, seeks to amend the National Health Act, 2014, by establishing mandatory standards for emergency medical treatment and referral procedures across both public and private healthcare facilities.
The bill, which scaled second reading during Wednesday’s plenary, would prohibit healthcare providers, workers and establishments from refusing emergency medical treatment to any patient under any circumstance.
Under the proposal, healthcare providers and facilities that violate the law could face a fine of up to N300,000, a prison term of not more than six months, or both.
Leading debate on the bill, Yar’Adua said the amendment is designed to create clear responsibilities for healthcare facilities and personnel handling patients in critical conditions, while also ensuring faster access to life-saving medical care.
“A health care provider, health worker, or health establishment shall not refuse any person emergency medical treatment for any reason whatsoever,” the proposed amendment states.
A key provision of the bill requires all licensed public and private hospitals offering emergency services to begin triage and initial assessment within 15 minutes of a patient’s arrival at an emergency department, highlighting, where a medical doctor is unavailable, a trained and certified nurse would be permitted to carry out the initial assessment.
The proposed amendment also mandates healthcare facilities to commence basic stabilisation measures, including oxygen therapy, intravenous fluid administration, pain management and preliminary diagnostic procedures within 30 minutes of the patient’s arrival.
In life-threatening situations, hospitals would be required to immediately initiate critical interventions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, airway management and bleeding control once the condition is identified.
The legislation further seeks to address delays often associated with hospital admissions and referrals.
It provides that where a licensed medical officer determines that a patient requires admission, a bed must be assigned within two hours of arrival, provided bed space is available.
However, if no bed is available, the facility would be required to immediately commence resuscitation and stabilisation while making arrangements to transfer the patient to another hospital capable of providing the required treatment.
The referral process must begin within two hours of the patient’s arrival or immediately after the patient has been assessed and certified stable for transfer, whichever comes first.
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In addition, hospitals would be expected to complete the transfer process within three hours of the patient’s arrival, except in circumstances beyond their control such as transportation challenges, insecurity or natural disruptions.
To further reduce delays, healthcare facilities must dispatch an ambulance or secure alternative transportation within 30 minutes after deciding to refer a patient.
The bill also introduces mandatory emergency-care training requirements for healthcare workers.
Under the proposal, all personnel involved in emergency medical services would be required to undergo periodic training and obtain certification in emergency-care competencies as a condition for participating in emergency treatment.
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NMCN, would jointly develop a standardized national emergency-care curriculum, while healthcare workers would be required to renew their certification at intervals not exceeding 18 months.
The proposed amendment, however, offers protection to healthcare practitioners who are unable to meet the stipulated requirements due to resource limitations. Such protection would apply only where the practitioner documents the circumstances, complies with referral procedures and reports the incident to hospital management or the relevant authorities.
The bill has been referred to the appropriate Senate committee for further legislative consideration and is expected to be reviewed within four weeks.
The Senate’s move comes as the House of Representatives also passed for second reading a separate bill seeking to empower authorities to suspend or withdraw the operating licenses of healthcare facilities that refuse or obstruct emergency medical treatment.
Nigeria’s existing legal framework already prohibits the refusal of emergency care as Section 20 of the National Health Act, 2014, states that healthcare providers, health workers and health establishments must not deny emergency treatment to any person for any reason.
The new amendment seeks to strengthen those provisions by introducing specific timelines for assessment, stabilisation, admission and referral, tripling the maximum fine to N300,000 and making emergency-care training compulsory for healthcare workers.
THE CABLE
