Abstract
A law was recently passed by the Nigerian National Assembly termed the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Gunshot Victims Act 2017.
This was necessitated as a result of the incessant deaths caused by the non-treatment of victims of gunshot wounds by medical professionals.
Medical Law is the branch of law that concerns itself with the rights of patients on one hand and rights and responsibilities of medical professionals on the other hand.
Its major branches are negligence, torts and confidentiality. The practice of medico-legal issues is sub-optimal in Nigeria unlike in high-income countries where knowledge of patients’ rights is high and the healthcare professionals also well indemnified to cover for eventualities. The reason for this may be attributed to a systematic failure of good governance and its attendant corruption, fraud, lack of structure and accountability.
There is a dearth of implementation of healthcare laws in Nigeria. Although the legal framework and policies regarding healthcare seem adequate, on the face of it, a lot of work needs to be done regarding its implementation and sanctions on erring medical professionals.
The National Health Act 2014 is the prescribed law relating to healthcare delivery in Nigeria. It is broad in terms of its application, yet not robust enough to cover all health-related fields. In most instances, patients are not aware of these laws and therefore have no use for them.
A new bill and subsequent law was recently passed by the National Assembly named – the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Gunshot Victims 2017. This is by far an outstanding move, as it has become necessary to tackle specifically the menace caused by this lacuna in the Law. Indeed, it has become imperative for the Nigerian Legal and Health systems to rise to global best practices. The Anti Torture Act 2017 was also signed into law alongside with the aim of prevention of inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority, including the police and other security agencies on the victims of gunshot wounds.
The Compulsory Treatment and Care of Gunshot Victims Act 2017
Section 1 states that from the commencement of the Act, every hospital in Nigeria whether public or private shall accept or receive for immediate and adequate treatment with or without police clearance any person with a gunshot wound.
Section 3 provides details of treatment with or without monetary deposit paid.
Section 4 states that it shall be the duty of any hospital that receives or accepts any person with a gunshot wound to report the fact to the nearest police station within two hours of the commencement of treatment. The police may not receive any person with gunshot wounds from the hospital for the purposes of investigation unless and until the Chief Medical Director of the hospital certifies him fit and no longer in dire need of medical care. This new law is in line with emergency medicine protocol worldwide.
From the foregoing, any medical professional and/or hospital that refuses urgent and adequate care of a gunshot wound victim must face the wrath of the law.
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria is the body that regulates the practice of medicine, dentistry and alternative medicine in Nigeria. The council is also charged with medical licensing. There are quite a few recorded cases tried by the Medical and Dental Council Tribunal. This may be attributed to the fact that we are a ‘religious’ society and every happenstance is regarded as the will of God. It is instructive to note that this notion is changing albeit slowly. To this end, medical professionals in Nigeria should be abreast with the laws guiding medical practice as ignorance of the law is not a defence.
Medical indemnity
Section 22 of the National Health Act 2004 stipulates that healthcare providers are backed by their employers and any expenses incurred by them in any civil or criminal cases will be borne by their employers so long as they are not proved to be negligent. This section provides for the barest form of medical indemnity. It precludes that medical professionals are allowed to perform their duties with the knowledge that their employers will indemnify their expenses if at all litigation will arise thereof. A call is made on insurance companies to invest in tailor-made indemnity coverage for medical professionals; this is a global best practice.