Doctors Oppose Proposed ₦300,000 Fine, Six-Month Jail Term Over Emergency Care Failures
By DIANA CHUKWUKA
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 facilities over delays in emergency treatment and referral.
The association argued that the proposed penalties would punish healthcare workers for failures within a health system that successive governments have neglected.
Although the bill has reportedly passed its second reading in the Senate, NARD insisted that lawmakers should address the underlying problems affecting hospitals instead of introducing additional criminal sanctions.
In a statement dated 5 November 2026, the association described the proposed punishment as an unfair response to inadequate healthcare infrastructure and insufficient government investment.
The statement was signed by NARD President, Dr. Ogar Emmanuel Idoko; Secretary-General, Dr. Besongngem Akotanchi; and Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ashimom Timothy.
According to the association, doctors continue to work in hospitals struggling with obsolete equipment, inadequate staffing, unreliable electricity and insufficient emergency supplies.
Furthermore, many facilities face deteriorating infrastructure and limited resources, making timely emergency interventions difficult.
NARD maintained that these challenges reflect longstanding institutional neglect rather than professional negligence.
“Fund our hospitals, equip our facilities, employ more health workers, provide constant electricity, and strengthen emergency services; not more prisons,” the association declared.
It also questioned how lawmakers expected doctors to deliver effective emergency care without essential medical resources.
“You cannot legislate oxygen into an empty cylinder, electricity into a dark operating theatre, or life-saving equipment into an inadequately funded hospital,” it added.
The association therefore urged the National Assembly to demonstrate the same urgency in improving hospital funding, emergency departments, medical equipment, ambulance services and staffing levels.
It also drew attention to Nigeria’s failure to meet the 15 per cent health budget allocation target prescribed under the Abuja Declaration.
Turning its criticism towards public officeholders, NARD challenged lawmakers to consider legislation requiring government officials to seek medical treatment in Nigerian public hospitals if imprisonment was the appropriate response to healthcare system failures.
Additionally, it called for sanctions against the misuse of public resources on avoidable overseas medical treatment.
“Those entrusted with funding and overseeing our hospitals must demonstrate confidence in the same healthcare system they expect ordinary Nigerians to depend upon,” the association said.
Meanwhile, NARD warned that imposing additional criminal penalties could worsen the migration of Nigerian doctors and other medical professionals abroad, a development widely known as the japa syndrome.
The association said the proposed amendment acknowledged resource limitations but insisted that its safeguards must be explicit, comprehensive and enforceable.
It maintained that doctors should not face punishment for institutional failures, unavailable equipment, inadequate staffing or circumstances beyond their control.
Consequently, NARD called for the withdrawal and reconsideration of the punitive provisions. It also urged lawmakers to consult professional associations, hospital administrators, patient representatives and other relevant stakeholders.
Rather than introduce additional criminal penalties, the association wants the National Assembly to prioritise legislation guaranteeing adequate healthcare funding, minimum emergency-care standards, appropriate staffing, reliable electricity, functional referral systems and accountability for institutional failures.
