Senate Proposes Six-Month Jail Term For Hospitals Denying Emergency Care

The Senate has proposed a six-month jail term or a fine of N1 million for hospitals that deny patients emergency care, as lawmakers moved to criminalise the practice of rejecting critically ill or injured persons.

The proposal was contained in a bill sponsored by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, which passed its second reading on Wednesday, ValidViewNetwork reports.

THE BILL

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The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, and for Other Related Matters,” seeks to strengthen the existing law by introducing stiffer penalties for hospitals that refuse to treat emergency cases.

Bamidele said the current law had failed to deter hospitals from rejecting patients, leading to preventable deaths across the country.”No Nigerian should die because a hospital refused to attend to them in their hour of need

,” he said.The bill also proposes that hospitals found guilty of denying emergency care should pay compensation to the victims or their families.

THE DEBATE

Senators who contributed to the debate supported the bill, citing the frequency with which hospitals reject patients, particularly victims of gunshot wounds, accidents, and other life-threatening emergencies.

They argued that the fear of police involvement and the lack of clarity on the legal obligations of hospitals had contributed to the problem.

WHY IT MATTERS

Every year, Nigerians die because hospitals refuse to treat them. Victims of gunshot wounds are turned away because hospitals fear police investigations. Accident victims are rejected because they cannot pay upfront. Pregnant women in labour are denied care because their families cannot produce a deposit.

The Senate bill is an attempt to end this practice. If passed and signed into law, it would send a clear message: a hospital’s first duty is to save lives, not to check bank accounts or police reports.

The fine is small, and the jail term is short, but the principle is significant. No one should die at the gate of a hospital. ValidViewNetwork reports.