Senate Proposes Six-Month Jail Term, ₦300 Thousand Fine for Hospitals That Reject Emergency Patients
The Senate is considering a bill seeking to punish hospitals and healthcare providers who fail to comply with proposed emergency treatment standards with up to six months’ imprisonment, a ₦300,000 fine, or both.
Sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, the proposed amendment to the National Health Act, 2014, seeks to ensure timely emergency care, proper training of healthcare workers and improved patient referral procedures.
Under the bill, public and private hospitals would be required to assess emergency patients within 15 minutes of arrival, begin initial stabilisation within 30 minutes and complete referrals within three hours where necessary.
The legislation also mandates immediate life-saving interventions, including CPR, airway management and bleeding control, once a life-threatening condition is identified. Basic stabilisation must include oxygen therapy, intravenous fluids, pain relief and preliminary diagnostic procedures.
Hospitals would also be required to provide admission beds within two hours, subject to availability. Where beds are unavailable, facilities must stabilise patients and begin referral arrangements within two hours or once they are considered fit for transfer. Ambulance dispatch or alternative transportation must commence within 30 minutes of a referral decision.
The bill further directs the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to establish a national emergency care curriculum, with relevant healthcare workers undergoing training and certification at least once every 18 months.
