The Senate on Wednesday passed for second reading the National Health Act Amendment Bill 2026, seeking to establish emergency medical treatment standards and referral protocols in healthcare facilities across Nigeria.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua ( APC Katsina Central), seeks to amend the National Health Act 2014 to address delays in emergency medical treatment and prevent avoidable deaths.
Leading debate on the bill, Yar’Adua said it would fill critical gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system by establishing enforceable standards for emergency treatment and referral procedures.
He said the amendment would ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of status, wealth, influence, or location, received timely and life-saving medical attention during emergencies.
The lawmaker said preventable deaths persisted because healthcare facilities lacked clearly defined and enforceable timelines for patient assessment, stabilisation and treatment during emergencies.
He noted that Nigeria accounted for approximately 10 per cent of global maternal deaths, with delayed access to emergency obstetric care.
Yar’Adua said the bill proposed that healthcare facilities assess emergency patients within 15 minutes of arrival and commence stabilisation measures within 30 minutes.
He explained that life-saving interventions would begin immediately upon recognition of life-threatening conditions, while referral procedures would strengthen coordination across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.
He said the proposed amendment would protect healthcare workers acting in good faith within documented resource limitations while ensuring accountability for wilful negligence.
The lawmaker proposed a fine of N300,000, imprisonment not exceeding six months or both, for facilities or persons contravening the proposed emergency treatment provisions.
Yar’Adua said the amendment aligned Nigeria with international practices, citing Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Supporting the bill, Sen. Mohammed Monguno (APC Borno North) said it would address the high rate of deaths arising from road accidents and maternal emergencies.
Monguno said some healthcare providers neglected emergency patients, resulting in avoidable deaths, adding that the proposed amendment would introduce criminal liability for such negligence.
He said the bill would address existing gaps in the National Health Act and reinforce the government’s primary responsibility of protecting citizens’ welfare.
Also supporting the bill, Sen. Diket Plang (Plateau Central) said it would improve emergency admissions and establish appropriate referral procedures across different levels of healthcare delivery.
Plang said rural communities particularly required the intervention because complications during childbirth often necessitated urgent referrals from primary healthcare centres to higher facilities.
He stressed that referred patients must be stabilised before transportation, adding that the proposed provisions would help prevent avoidable deaths during emergency transfers.
However, Sen. Francis Faduyile (Ondo South) cautioned against criminalising healthcare professionals without addressing inadequate facilities, personnel shortages and other systemic challenges.
Faduyile said many hospitals lacked sufficient doctors, oxygen cylinders and emergency equipment, making it difficult for healthcare workers to meet prescribed timelines.
He questioned how a lone doctor attending to several patients could be held criminally responsible when another emergency case arrived simultaneously.
The senator also raised concerns about inadequate funding, noting that private healthcare providers frequently attended to emergency patients without receiving reimbursement for the services.
He said the country’s healthcare challenges required a comprehensive review of the National Health Act rather than concentrating solely on sanctions against healthcare professionals.
The Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Abba Moro ( PDP Benue South), said the bill had exposed several gaps requiring comprehensive legislative attention.
Moro noted that the committee stage and public hearing would provide opportunities for healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to make necessary contributions.
The Senate Minority Leader cited experiences in Mexico, where emergency responders and ambulances promptly attended to accident victims, helping to prevent avoidable deaths.
He also condemned hospitals that reportedly demanded police reports before attending to emergency patients, stressing that saving lives should remain the priority.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the debate had exposed important challenges requiring attention across the country’s healthcare system.
Akpabio urged senators to support the bill’s progression, stressing that identified shortcomings should be addressed through further legislative deliberations and stakeholder consultations.
He said the federal government, state governments, and local government authorities must work together to provide the necessary facilities and resources for effective healthcare delivery.
The Senate subsequently passed the bill for second reading and referred it to the Committee on Health with a mandate to report back within four weeks.
