The Nigerian Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to make emergency medical treatment compulsory in public and private hospitals, with violators facing up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of 300,000.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (APC, Katsina Central), seeks to amend the National Health Act, 2014, to establish mandatory emergency treatment standards and referral procedures across healthcare facilities.
Titled A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Health Act, 2014 to Provide for Emergency Medical Treatment Standards and Referral Protocols in Healthcare Facilities; and for Related Matters, 2026 (SB. 759), the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) for further legislative action.
The committee was directed to report back to the Senate within four weeks.
Under the proposed amendment, no healthcare provider, medical worker or hospital would be allowed to deny emergency treatment to a patient for any reason.
The bill also proposes that anyone convicted of denying emergency medical care could face a fine of up to ₦300,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
The bill sets out specific timelines for hospitals to assess and provide initial treatment to emergency patients.
Healthcare professionals would be required to begin life-saving interventions, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, airway management and bleeding control, immediately after identifying a life-threatening condition.
Hospitals would also be required to conduct triage and initial assessments within 15 minutes of a patient’s arrival.
Basic stabilisation measures, including oxygen administration, intravenous fluids, pain management and initial diagnostic procedures, would have to begin within 30 minutes.
For patients requiring admission, hospital beds would be assigned within two hours, subject to availability.
Where beds are unavailable, the facility would be expected to stabilise the patient and arrange transfer to another hospital.
The proposed law further requires hospitals to initiate referral arrangements within two hours and complete transfers within three hours of a patient’s arrival, except where circumstances beyond their control prevent compliance.
It also provides that hospitals must dispatch an ambulance or arrange alternative transportation within 30 minutes of communicating a referral decision.
Beyond emergency treatment timelines, the bill seeks to introduce compulsory emergency care training and certification for healthcare workers, with recertification intervals not exceeding 18 months.
It also requires the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to jointly develop a standardised national emergency care curriculum.
However, the proposed amendment provides protection for healthcare practitioners where resource constraints make compliance impossible, provided the challenges are properly documented and the prescribed referral procedures are followed.
Leading the debate on the bill, Yar’Adua said the proposed amendment would address critical gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system by establishing enforceable standards for emergency treatment and referrals.
He said it would ensure that Nigerians receive timely, life-saving medical attention during emergencies, regardless of their social status, wealth, influence or location.
According to the senator, preventable deaths continue because many healthcare facilities lack clearly defined and enforceable timelines for patient assessment, stabilisation and treatment.
He also cited Nigeria’s contribution to approximately 10 per cent of global maternal deaths, attributing part of the problem to delays in accessing emergency obstetric care.
Yar’Adua said the legislation would improve coordination among primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities while ensuring that patients are stabilised before being transferred.
He added that the bill would protect healthcare workers acting in good faith within documented resource limitations while ensuring accountability for wilful negligence.
The senator also said the proposed amendment was consistent with international practices, citing Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Supporting the bill, Senate Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno North), said it would address deaths arising from road accidents and maternal emergencies.
He lamented that some healthcare providers neglected emergency patients, resulting in avoidable deaths, and said the proposed amendment would introduce criminal liability for such conduct.
Similarly, Senator Diket Plang (Plateau Central) said the bill would improve emergency admissions and establish appropriate referral procedures across different levels of healthcare delivery.
He noted that rural communities particularly needed the intervention because childbirth complications often require urgent referrals from primary healthcare centres to higher-level facilities.
Plang stressed that patients must be stabilised before transportation to prevent avoidable deaths during emergency transfers.
However, Senator Francis Faduyile (APC, Ondo South) cautioned against criminalising healthcare professionals without first addressing inadequate facilities, personnel shortages and other challenges in the health sector.
He said many hospitals lacked sufficient doctors, oxygen cylinders and emergency equipment, making it difficult for healthcare workers to meet the proposed timelines.
Faduyile questioned how a doctor attending to several patients simultaneously could be held criminally responsible when another emergency case arrived.
He also raised concerns about inadequate funding, noting that private healthcare providers often attended to emergency patients without receiving reimbursement.
The senator argued that Nigeria’s healthcare challenges required a comprehensive review of the National Health Act rather than concentrating solely on sanctions against healthcare professionals.
Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South), said the bill had exposed several gaps requiring legislative attention.
He expressed confidence that the committee stage and proposed public hearing would allow healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to contribute to the proposed amendment.
Moro also condemned the practice of hospitals demanding police reports before treating emergency patients, stressing that saving lives should remain the priority.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the debate had highlighted important challenges requiring attention across the country’s healthcare system.
Akpabio urged lawmakers to support the bill’s progression, noting that identified shortcomings could be addressed through further legislative deliberations and consultations with relevant stakeholders.
He also stressed that the Federal Government, state governments and local government authorities must work together to provide the facilities and resources required for effective healthcare delivery.
