By Adebisi Onanuga
The Crime Victims Foundation of Nigeria (CRIVIFON) is seeking the enforcement of the law mandating doctors and hospitals to treat gunshot victims without a police report.
CRIVIFON Executive Director, Gloria Egbuji, urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Civil Society Organisations and other human rights organisations to be more involved in the process.
She warned that failure to do so could lead to more lives being lost through inhuman attitude of medical staff in some hospitals.
Mrs Egbuji stated this in a statement issued in Lagos titled: “Rejection of gun-shot victims by hospitals: CRIVIFON calls for prosecution of offenders.”
Her concern followed the increasing spate of death of gunshot victims due to refusal of doctors and hospitals to treat them without a police report.
CRIVIFON called for the prosecution of hospitals and medical staff who reject such victims contrary to Section 2 of the Treatment and Care For Victims of Gun-Shot Act 2017.
Egbuji noted that such doctors and hospitals were breaching the provisions of the law, thereby exposing themselves to criminal and civil liability.
The foundation described the demand for police report before treatment as totally unnecessary because the law now empowers hospitals to commence treatment before filing a police report.
It therefore called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Commissioners of Police to fish out all such offending or negligent hospitals and their medical staff for prosecution in order to reverse this ugly trend.
Acknowledging the concerns of hospitals and doctors who complain about police harassment, the foundation emphasised that such rogue policemen are acting against the law and should be reported immediately to their superiors rather than allow them intimidate hospitals into flouting the law and causing unnecessary loss of lives.
CRIVIFON also urged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) and other health sector bodies to educate their members on the need to obey the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gun Shot Act 2017 2017.
The Foundation noted the deaths from gunshot wounds of gospel music producer Ebenezer Ayeni and 32-year-old accountant Odiri Onosigho, allegedly involving police report concerns.
It wondered why the NMA and the MDCN have been mute over such abnormal and illegal practices by medical professionals.
In acknowledging that there may be other reasons why hospitals found it difficult to manage some patients, such as funding or competence, CRIVIFON called for a conference of medical associations, the Police and Civil Society where those issues could ‘be discussed and practical solutions proferred to avoid further loss of lives.
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