Governments at the federal and state level have been urged to ensure adequate funding of the nation’s healthcare system to address increasing cases of avoidable deaths and indignity to which patients are often subjected.
A Professor of Medical Law and Ethics and Dean, Faculty of Law, the University of Abuja, Uwakwe Abugu, who made the call, noted that the current state of the nation’s healthcare system was saddening.
Prof. Abugu noted that ‘in our hospitals and clinics, we encounter the human condition in its rawest form; you are confronted face to face by suffering, hopelessness, fear, and desecration of divine trust.
‘Yet, too often, the dignity of those we seek to heal is overshadowed by systemic neglect, bureaucratic inertia, or professional paternalism.’
Prof. Abugu spoke in Abuja on Thursday, while delivering the 52nd Inaugural Lecture of the University of Abuja, with the topic: ‘Restoring the dignity of the patient.’
He said the lecture sought to confront the existing reality in the nation’s healthcare system and explore the legal, ethical, and institutional frameworks that must safeguard the patient and ensure that the dignity of his human person is restored to its fullest.
Prof. Abugu, who suggested a number of legal and institutional reforms required to turn things around for the better, however noted that such reforms must be accompanied by the reorientation of the healthcare professionals to ensure that they prioritise patients’ care.
He advocated that governments at the state and federal levels should be held directly accountable for systemic failures in the healthcare sector that result in medical negligence and violations of patient dignity.
Prof. Abugu argued that beyond regulating healthcare providers, governments have a duty to ensure adequate funding, functional infrastructure, sufficient healthcare personnel, and effective oversight of health institutions.
Noting that inadequate funding and related challenges often expose patients to avoidable harm and loss of life, Prof. Abugu urged the courts to recognise that serious systemic healthcare failures may amount to violations of the constitutional rights to life and dignity.
He argued that strengthening legal avenues for challenging governmental neglect will promote greater accountability and improve healthcare delivery.
Prof. Abugu called for the effective implementation and funding of the compulsory emergency treatment provisions of the National Health Act 2014, noting that Section 20 of the Act, which prohibits any healthcare provider from refusing a person emergency medical treatment for any reason, is frequently misunderstood and wrongly applied.
He said, ‘This provision is frequently misunderstood and applied as though it is relevant only during disease outbreaks, pandemics, or other national emergencies.
‘The relevant authorities should utilise the five per cent of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) for emergency Treatment under the Act specifically for emergency treatment in hospitals and not misapply the fund in non-relevant needs of the healthcare systems, including accident victims, women experiencing obstetric emergencies, and persons suffering sudden life-threatening conditions.
‘Furthermore, inadequate budgetary allocation to the health sector has weakened the capacity of many public hospitals to provide emergency treatment without demanding upfront payment.
‘Although Nigeria committed under the Abuja Declaration to allocate at least 15 per cent of its annual budget to the health sector, this target has rarely been achieved, thereby affecting the availability of personnel, equipment, drugs, and emergency care services.
‘Proper funding and strict enforcement of Section 20 would ensure that no person is denied life-saving treatment and would reaffirm the value and dignity of every human life irrespective of financial status.
‘The effective implementation of the compulsory emergency treatment Provisions of the National Health Act 2014 is crucial to restoring the dignity of the patient in Nigeria,’ he said.
Prof. Abugu advocated that the deployment of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure in promoting medico-legal claims, adding that the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules should be more actively utilised in cases where medical negligence results in the Violation of constitutional rights.
He noted that, while negligence actions remain important, many healthcare-related wrongs also implicate the rights to life, dignity, privacy, and freedom from degrading treatment.
As a result, he argued, patients should be encouraged to pursue fundamental rights actions where appropriate, particularly in cases involving serious abuse or institutional neglect.
He added that a liberal judicial approach to such claims will enhance access to justice and strengthen the protection of patient rights, which will further promote a rights-based approach to healthcare delivery in Nigeria.