The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected a proposed amendment to the National Health Act seeking to impose a six-month jail term or a fine of up to ₦300,000 on healthcare professionals and medical facilities over delays in providing emergency treatment.
The association described the proposed legislation, which has reportedly passed its second reading in the Senate, as punitive, arguing that it seeks to criminalise doctors for failures arising from a healthcare system that successive governments have failed to adequately fund, equip and staff.
In a statement made available to journalists on Friday in Calabar, NARD said it recognised the importance of prompt emergency medical care but would not accept legislation that punishes healthcare professionals without addressing the systemic challenges undermining service delivery.
The statement was signed by the association’s President, Dr Ogar Idoko; Secretary-General, Dr Besongngem Akotanchi; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Dr Ashimom Timothy.
It read, “The attention of the leadership of NARD has been drawn to reports of a proposed amendment to the National Health Act seeking to impose a six-month jail term or a fine of up to ₦300,000.00 on healthcare professionals and facilities over delays in emergency medical treatment.
“The proposed legislation, which has reportedly passed second reading in the Senate, seeks to introduce mandatory timelines for emergency care treatment and referral.
“While NARD recognises the importance of prompt emergency care and the need to protect patients from avoidable harm, we unequivocally reject any legislative approach that criminalises healthcare professionals without adequately addressing the systemic failures that undermine emergency medical services in Nigeria.”
The association said doctors across the country continued to work under extremely difficult conditions, battling obsolete medical equipment, inadequate staffing, unreliable electricity, shortages of emergency supplies and deteriorating hospital infrastructure.
“It is unacceptable to punish doctors for the consequences of a healthcare system that successive governments have failed to adequately fund, equip and staff,” part of the statement read.
NARD maintained that the challenges confronting emergency medical services were not necessarily the result of professional negligence but stemmed from years of institutional neglect and inadequate investment in the health sector.
The association also expressed concern that lawmakers were prioritising punitive measures against frontline healthcare workers while Nigeria continued to fall short of the 15 per cent health budget allocation target under the Abuja Declaration.
“We challenge the National Assembly to demonstrate the same legislative urgency in ensuring adequate healthcare funding, functional emergency departments, modern diagnostic equipment, uninterrupted electricity, reliable ambulance services and sufficient healthcare personnel,” it said.
“You cannot legislate oxygen into an empty cylinder, electricity into a dark operating theatre, or life-saving equipment into an inadequately funded hospital,” the association added.
NARD further called on lawmakers to subject themselves to the same standards of accountability they were seeking to impose on healthcare professionals.
It argued that if imprisonment was considered an appropriate response to failures in the healthcare system, the National Assembly should first consider legislation compelling public officeholders to seek medical treatment in government hospitals in Nigeria, with appropriate sanctions for the misuse of public resources on avoidable medical trips abroad.
The association warned that introducing additional criminal penalties against already overstretched healthcare professionals could worsen the country’s growing brain drain, popularly known as the japa syndrome.
It said that at a time when Nigeria was struggling to retain its skilled medical workforce, creating an increasingly hostile and punitive working environment could push more doctors and nurses to seek employment opportunities abroad.
Although NARD acknowledged that the proposed amendment reportedly contained provisions recognising resource limitations and circumstances beyond the control of healthcare practitioners, it insisted that such safeguards must be explicit, comprehensive and enforceable.
The association maintained that doctors should not face criminal sanctions for institutional failures, unavailable medical equipment, inadequate staffing or other circumstances beyond their reasonable control.
