The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Pate has called on all medical practitioners to comply with the national law by providing prompt treatment and care for gunshot victims to prevent death.
He spoke on Tuesday when he communicated his concerns over the defiance to the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 in most medical facilities in the country.
In a press statement signed by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Patricia Deworitshe, on Tuesday, it was noted that in recent times, the Nigerian society has suffered a rise in the loss of lives as a result of the lack of compliance with the law exhibited by some health facilities whereby they refuse to treat the victims of gunshot without police report.
The report stated that ” Gunshot victims come under medical emergencies that require urgent attention to save the life of the patient or victim. It has come to the knowledge of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, of the slow or non-compliance by most medical facilities going contrary to the Gunshot Act 2017 which mandates all medical facilities to provide for the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots; and related matters.”
According to the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari
The act states that ‘1. Every Hospital in Nigeria whether public or private shall accept or receive, for immediate and adequate treatment with or without police clearance, any person with a gunshot wound.
2. (1) Every person, including security agents, shall render every possible assistance to any person with gunshot wounds and ensure that the person is taken to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment. Accordingly:(a) A person with a gunshot wound shall be received for immediate and adequate treatment by any hospital in Nigeria with or without initial monetary deposit and(b) A person with a gunshot wound shall not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority including the police or other security agencies.
3. (a) A hospital that receives or accepts any person with a gunshot wound for treatment shall report the fact to the nearest police station within two hours of commencement of treatment .
(b) Upon receipt of the report under subsection (1) of this section, the police shall immediately commence investigation with a view to determining the circumstance under which the person was shot.’
However, this has not been the case in the nation as there have been several reports of victims of gunshot being avoided and not attended to by the hospitals and the police which subsequently leads to the death of most of these victims.
The minister urged the health institutions that the treatment of gunshot victims is not illegal while it is the non- treatment of the victims that is illegal.
He also urged the Nigerian police to comply with the Act and respond to such cases swiftly.