The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has rejected a proposed amendment to the National Health Act that would impose a six-month jail term or a ₦300,000 fine on healthcare professionals for delays in emergency medical treatment.
In a statement issued on Friday in Calabar, NARD President Dr Ogar Idoko described the measure as punitive. He argued that doctors should not face criminal sanctions for failures rooted in longstanding institutional neglect rather than individual negligence.
Idoko said doctors across the country operate under severe constraints, including obsolete equipment, inadequate staffing, unreliable electricity and shortages of emergency medical supplies. He urged lawmakers to prioritise funding and infrastructure improvements instead of criminal penalties.
The association recognised the need for prompt emergency care and patient protection but insisted systemic challenges must be addressed first. Idoko challenged the National Assembly to show equal urgency in providing functional emergency departments, modern diagnostic equipment, reliable ambulance services and adequate personnel.
He also called for legislation requiring public office holders to use Nigerian government hospitals, with sanctions for the misuse of public resources on avoidable overseas medical treatment. Additional criminal penalties against overstretched professionals, he warned, risked worsening the country’s medical brain drain, often referred to as the “Japan syndrome.”
While acknowledging that the bill reportedly includes safeguards for circumstances beyond practitioners’ control, Idoko said those provisions must be made explicit and enforceable. He called for the withdrawal of the punitive sections and for proper consultations involving healthcare associations, hospital administrators, patient representatives and other stakeholders.
NARD urged the National Assembly to focus instead on legislation that guarantees adequate health funding, minimum emergency-care standards, appropriate staffing levels, constant electricity and functional referral systems.
The association warned it would consider all lawful options, including nationwide industrial action, if lawmakers proceeded with measures that unjustly criminalise doctors for institutional failures. It pledged, however, to protect emergency and critically ill patients during any industrial action and reaffirmed its commitment to patient safety and quality care.
The Senate is considering the bill, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), which seeks to punish hospitals and healthcare workers who refuse or delay emergency medical treatment. The bill passed its second reading on Wednesday.
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