The House of Representatives has initiated legislative steps to enforce patients’ rights to immediate emergency medical care by proposing severe sanctions, including the suspension or complete revocation of operating licences for non-compliant hospitals.
​The proposed measure was debated during a plenary session held on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja. The amendment bill seeks to overhaul the National Health Act to address systemic delays, financial barriers, and administrative refusals that frequently jeopardise lives during critical medical emergencies.
​Under the proposed legal framework, healthcare institutions face immediate operational penalties if they refuse, delay, or obstruct emergency patients. The bill mandates strict clinical response windows upon arrival, requiring clinical triage to begin within 15 minutes of arrival, followed by basic life-saving stabilization within 30 minutes. If space is available, bed placement must occur within two hours.
In cases where facilities operate at maximum capacity, formal inter-hospital transfer arrangements must be initiated within two hours, transit logistics prepared within 30 minutes, and the patient’s transfer fully completed within three hours.
​In addition to licence suspension or revocation for medical facilities, individual health personnel who willfully neglect emergency patients face criminal prosecution, professional disciplinary actions, and potential civil lawsuits for damages resulting from injury or death.
​House Spokesperson and Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Akin Rotimi Jr., argued during the lead debate that statutory declarations are no longer sufficient without enforceable consequences.
He stated that the bill provides an important legislative step toward emergency medical care that is timely, competent, coordinated, and accountable, emphasizing that Nigerians should not have to negotiate for survival at the point of a medical emergency nor lose loved ones due to uncoordinated referrals and unnecessary delays.
​Supporting the general principles of the bill, lawmaker Dirisu Yakubu emphasized the necessity of imposing accountability on both private and public medical facilities to dismantle financial demand barriers before emergency administration.
The bill successfully passed its second reading during Wednesday’s session and has been referred to the House Committee on Healthcare Services for further stakeholder engagement and public hearings before its final passage.
