The Federal Government has issued a directive mandating both public and private healthcare facilities across the country to treat gunshot victims, with or without police clearance.
This announcement was made in a statement released by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on Saturday via its official X handle.
The statement, titled “Non-Compliance of Medical Facilities to the Gunshot Act 2017,” was signed by the Ministry’s Director of Information, Patricia Deworitshe. It revealed that the Ministry had received numerous complaints about hospitals across the nation refusing to treat gunshot victims, leading to preventable deaths.
The directive, issued by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, follows increasing concerns about the refusal of some healthcare facilities to attend to gunshot victims who do not have police reports.
“Recently, there has been a disturbing rise in deaths due to the refusal of certain health facilities to provide medical care to gunshot victims who do not present police clearance,” the statement read.
The Ministry emphasized that gunshot wounds are considered emergencies and require immediate medical attention to save lives. It also noted that many medical facilities have been slow to comply with the Gunshot Act, which mandates that all hospitals, public and private, must provide immediate and adequate treatment for gunshot victims, regardless of whether police clearance is provided.
The statement reiterated the law, which requires every hospital in Nigeria, including private institutions, to accept and treat gunshot victims promptly. It also called on security agents to assist gunshot victims and ensure they are taken to the nearest hospital for urgent care.
In response to this, the Ministry expressed concern over the growing number of gunshot incidents and the refusal by some health facilities to treat victims without police reports. Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister, urged all medical practitioners to adhere to the law by providing immediate treatment to prevent unnecessary deaths.
The Ministry also stated that it is implementing measures to ensure that Nigerian healthcare facilities comply with the Gunshot Act. Additionally, it called on the Nigerian Police to enforce the law by ensuring prompt treatment for gunshot victims and reassured healthcare facilities that treating gunshot victims is not illegal.
