The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has revealed that the Federal Government will punish any hospital that refuses to attend to patients brought to their facility on an emergency basis
According to the Minister, who said this in Abuja on Sunday, such an act of not attending to patients timely is inhumane and has led to the death of several people.
News About Nigeria reports that the FG’s threat is coming after a series of events involving how hospitals across the country usually reject gunshot victims and other accident victims, insisting that they get a police report.
According to Kennedy-Ohanenye, the FG would no longer allow such incidents to go unpunished, as hospitals have been directed to start putting out signposts reflecting ‘No more rejection of emergency patients’ outside their facilities.
The minister also revealed that a mobile court has been set up to start adjudicating on such cases.
She said, “Our hospitals will also put a sign of ‘No more rejection of emergency patients.’ These are some of the major issues we have in this country. I am in touch with Maitama Hospital. But now, I have a mobile court for any hospital that does that. I use this opportunity to call on all Nigerians to be vigilant.
“Let me also say that I am proud of Nigerians. I love the way they are using social media to tackle issues. But focus and continue to tackle the main issues as you are doing. Keep it up. But this is the time for action. Let all of us buckle up to prevent emergency patients from being rejected. I am still going to keep calling on Nigerians. This fight is not for one person alone. It is for all of us.”
