There has been growing public concerns regarding the ethical behaviors of healthcare professionals, especially doctors and nurses. Patients and their relatives complain of poor conduct. There has also been a rise in litigation against healthcare professionals. Every profession or calling has an ethical code, which are more often than not universally observed, and the medical profession is not an exception. These professional ethics cover the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals – what a professional should and should not do.
However, many health professionals do not adhere to the standards completely. Medical negligence or malpractice is a growing menace in Nigeria. Many avoidable deaths have been caused by doctors and nurses who do not pay attention to detail. A 2017 survey on medical errors in Nigeria, which was published by Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences, showed a prevalence of negligence at 42.8 percent per 145 medical practitioners. This means that about 60 out of 145 health professionals are indicated in this.
The report highlighted three common medical errors.
It was revealed in the report that the three most common medical errors that are committed by medical practitioners are: error of medication prescription, which was pegged at 95.2 percent; error of radio-laboratory investigation, which was put at 83.9 percent; and error of physician diagnoses, which was put at 69.4 percent. Some other studies, which were frequently cited in the report, placed the number of deaths resulting from medical negligence at 250,000 every year. This figure makes medical errors the third leading cause of death in Nigeria, behind cancer and cardiovascular disease.
To put all these in perspective, weeks ago, a Lagos High court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square sentenced a medical doctor, Dr. Ejike Ferdinand Orji, to one year imprisonment for causing grievous harm through negligence and for endangering the life of a 16-year-old patient. The medical director of Excel Medical Centre Dolphin Estate was found guilty of four out of the six-count charges brought against him by the Lagos State Government. Justice Adedayo Akintoye held in her judgement that Dr. Orji’s action fell below what is reasonably expected of a medical doctor and added that the prosecution established the essential ingredients of the offence of breach of duty, care and endangering the life of a 16-year-old patient amongst others.
Rampant cases like this have made relatives take the law into their hands.
In January 2023, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said in a statement that one of its members, Dr. Uyi Iluobe, was murdered by relatives of his patients at a hospital in Oghara in Delta State. According to NMA’s president, Uche Ojinma, Dr. Iluobe’s death was a response of the relatives to the loss of a patient, from suspected gunshot injuries which can never be justified and has resulted in violence against doctors and other healthcare workers from injuries to murder.
Ojinmah said that “It is unbelievable that in the face of a debilitating medical brain drain, the few doctors that patriotically decided to stay back and take care of our fellow citizens are being murdered by many Nigerians.” He also maintained that attacks on doctors by families of patients who die are becoming prevalent in Nigeria. This is not the only case like this. Late in December 2022 in Kwara State, following the death of a butcher, Alhaji Saliu, at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), his relatives went berserk by attacking a medical doctor on duty.
Medical practitioners need to solve the negligence narrative.
The menace of medical negligence and medical malpractice has not only contributed to a lot of deaths but also emboldened the relatives of patients who die, whether by negligence or not, to attack doctors and other health professionals on duty. The NMA as a body needs to find solutions to both the negligence of medical practitioners and the narratives being pushed around by people about health professionals who are diligent at their work. This is vital in sustaining the medical sector if the country is to survive with the surging rate of brain drain that the country is experiencing.
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The menace of medical negligence in Nigeria. – Public concerns grow regarding health professional’s conduct. – Express your point of view.
Medical negligence is an act that has always been done in Nigeria. Any body found culpable should be disciplined. We shouldn’t give room for negligence acts at all.
The menace of negligence continue to rise each day across the health sector and this is so because there are stringent punishment for the offenders and makes more people to do it and go away with it.
Concerns on the part of the general public over the moral actions of those working in the medical field have been developing.
The ethical standards of the medical profession are no different from those of any other profession or calling; in fact, the medical profession is one of the few exceptions to this rule.
These norms of professional ethics encompass both the personal and corporate standards of behavior that are expected of professionals. They outline both what a professional should and should not do in their line of work.
Truthfully, it is very important the need for the bodies in charge of the medical sector to find solutions and put a stop to the menace of medical negligence and medical malpractice.
It is quite problematic that a significant number of health professionals do not conform to the norms in their field.
In Nigeria, medical negligence or malpractice is a rising problem, and many preventable deaths have been caused by medical professionals who do not pay sufficient attention to the details of their patients’ conditions.
Room for negligence should not be allow, medical negligence act happen a lot in our country people doing anyhow and go away with it
This is absolutely necessary in order to maintain the medical sector if the nation is to withstand the escalating rate of brain drain that is currently being experienced by the country.
The prosecution demonstrated that the basic elements of the crime, including breach of duty, risking the life of a patient who was just 16 years old, and carelessness, were present.
Negligence is a growing problem in the healthcare industry, and although offenders face severe penalties, this only encourages others to engage in the practice in the hope of getting away with it.
Even though those who commit acts of neglect face harsh penalties, the problem persists because many others who commit similar acts escape unpunished or probably can’t afford a decent healthcare.
The practice of disregarding patients’ needs during medical care has a long history in the country of Nigeria. Everyone who is determined to be at fault should be punished. There should be zero tolerance for carelessness.
The menace of medical negligence in Nigeria. This nonsense is caused by government due to poor management of Nigeria government
It is high time that both the state and federal government enforce the medical ethics on healthcare practitioners. If decisive action are taken by the government it will reduce the act of negligence by the healthcare givers.
Truly, some wouldn’t have died if not for medical negligence by the healthcare giver. The unfortunate death could be avoid if there is proper adherence to the codes and conduct of the medical ethics. I am of the opinion that the government should enforce strict adherence to the medical ethics to avoid unwarranted deaths.
It’s about time for hospitals and doctors to start being held accountable by state and federal authorities for ethical violations. Negligence on the part of healthcare providers can be mitigated through strong government action.
The danger of medical malpractice and carelessness has led to many deaths, but it has also given dying patients’ families more confidence.
If the country is to resist the rapidly increasing pace of brain drain it is currently experiencing, it is imperative that the medical sector be maintained.