The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has opposed a proposed amendment to the National Health Act that seeks to penalise healthcare workers and medical facilities with up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦300,000 for failing to provide emergency treatment within stipulated timelines.

The association argued that the proposed legislation unfairly places the burden of a poorly funded and inadequately equipped healthcare system on medical professionals who are already working under difficult conditions.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, has reportedly passed its second reading in the Senate and seeks to establish mandatory timelines for assessing, stabilising and referring patients requiring emergency medical attention.

In a statement released in Calabar on Friday, NARD acknowledged the importance of timely emergency intervention and the need to prevent avoidable deaths but maintained that criminal sanctions against doctors would not address the underlying problems affecting healthcare delivery in the country.

The statement was jointly signed by the association’s President, Dr Ogar Idoko; Secretary-General, Dr Besongngem Akotanchi; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Dr Ashimom Timothy.

According to the association, medical practitioners across the country continue to operate in hospitals characterised by inadequate personnel, outdated medical equipment, unreliable power supply, shortages of emergency supplies and deteriorating infrastructure.

It maintained that delays in emergency care often arise from these institutional shortcomings rather than deliberate professional misconduct, warning against holding individual practitioners criminally responsible for circumstances beyond their control.

NARD also criticised what it described as the National Assembly’s misplaced legislative priorities, arguing that greater attention should be directed towards improving healthcare financing and providing hospitals with the resources required to deliver effective emergency services.

The association noted that Nigeria had continued to fall short of the 15 per cent health-sector funding benchmark outlined in the Abuja Declaration, urging lawmakers to demonstrate similar commitment in addressing shortages of medical personnel, functional emergency units, diagnostic equipment, ambulance services and reliable electricity.

It further questioned the fairness of imposing strict accountability measures on healthcare workers without subjecting public officeholders to comparable standards.

The doctors challenged lawmakers to consider policies that would encourage public officials to access medical services in Nigerian public hospitals, alongside appropriate sanctions for the misuse of public funds on avoidable overseas medical treatment.

NARD also warned that introducing additional criminal penalties into an already challenging working environment could worsen the migration of skilled medical professionals from Nigeria.

According to the association, the country is already struggling to retain experienced doctors and nurses, and policies perceived as hostile to healthcare workers could accelerate the ongoing brain drain.

Although NARD acknowledged that the proposed amendment reportedly recognises certain resource limitations and circumstances beyond the control of medical practitioners, it insisted that such exemptions must be clearly defined and enforceable.

It maintained that no healthcare professional should face criminal prosecution for delays resulting from unavailable medical equipment, insufficient staffing, institutional shortcomings or other conditions outside their reasonable control.

Under the proposed amendment, hospitals would be required to assess emergency patients within 15 minutes of arrival, commence stabilisation within 30 minutes and complete necessary referrals within three hours.

The association maintained that improving emergency healthcare requires investment in hospital infrastructure, adequate staffing and essential medical resources rather than relying primarily on punitive measures against frontline practitioners.