A discuss on the national health bill
A few days
ago I wrote on what the Nigerian doctors wanted with regards to the ongoing
strike that has lasted for 17days today. Among the things they want is that the
national health bill be passed. And as we may have it the both houses have
passed the bill and are currently working on the final draft for onward
submission to the president of the federal republic for final assent.
The importance
of this bill to the health care sector cannot be overemphasized as it will
address the major issues bedeviling the sector. It touches on the rights of the
citizens to appropriate healthcare services and the rights of the healthcare
provider to treat a patient.
The bill addresses
the issue of funding as it set up a Basic
Healthcare Provision Fund that will be financed from the federal government
annual grant of not less than 1% of its consolidated revenue funds and grants
from international donor partners. 50% of this fund will go to health insurance
via the NHIS, 20% for the provision of essential drugs, vaccines and
consumables for eligible primary healthcare facilities, 15% for the provision
and maintenance of facilities equipment and transport, 10% will be used for
development of human resources for primary health care and 5% for emergency
medical treatment.
In this bill
is a provision that entitles all Nigerians to treatment in emergency cases. No hospital
or health establishment will refuse you treatment in emergency cases for
whatsoever reason.
Except for
psychiatric cases, they healthcare provider may refuse to treat a healthcare
user who is physically or verbally
abusive or who sexually harasses him or her. And in such cases the
healthcare provider should report the incident to the appropriate authorities. This
is good because some people walk into the consulting room and abuse healthcare
providers and think they will go scot free. This law will protects the
healthcare provider from these abusive individuals And also address the
penchant of healthcare providers to embark on strikes because their colleague (s)
has been abused physically. They must understand that the law protects them and
therefore should channel the issue to appropriate quarters.
Nigerian must
know that it is their right to be provided with the relevant information and
treatment options available pertaining to their state of health whenever they
meet a healthcare provider. The healthcare user must be furnished with
information with regards to diagnostics, benefits, risks, costs and
consequences generally associated with each option. Now the user has the right
to refuse any option of health services proffered by the healthcare provider
but the risks, obligations and implications of such refusal must be explained
to the patient. We must learn to start asking our doctors critical questions
with regards to the service he is offering you. Don’t be an experimental model.
Don’t just sit and say the doctor knows better. I encourage us all to read
relevant materials that relates to whatever situation you have. Lucky enough
the internet is full with all manner of information concerning health related
issues. So the onus now lies on the healthcare provider to explain to the best
of his knowledge the areas that may be confusing. Note there are a lot of
quacks out there so knowledge is the key.
This bill
gives you the right to complain about the manner in which you were treated in
any health establishment be it private of public, and have the complaint
investigated. It also mandates the health establishment to visibly display the
procedures for complaint to anybody entering the establishment. So if you don’t
like the way your doctor, nurse, pharmacist or any other person in a health establishment
treats you, know you have the right to complain.
This bill is
so encompassing that it covers a lot of issues ranging from ethical issues with
medical research, penalties for those who sell their blood or organs, the
appropriate age to donate blood and organs, industrial disputes within the
healthcare sector, development and provision of human resources in National
health systems, and medical treatment abroad. Now public officials who want to
be treated abroad will do so with their own finances not that of Nigerian tax
payers. Prohibition of reproductive and therapeutic cloning of humankind is also
found in this bill. This is an area that the religious bodies show a lot of
interest because of the ethical issues surrounding human cloning.
Amongst other
things as discussed above, the alternative medicine practitioners, traditional
birth attendants and tradomedical practitioners
are not left out. So wherever you choose to access healthcare there are
relevant sections of this bill that covers you as a Nigerian citizen.
This is a
bill for Nigerians designed by Nigerians bearing in mind our perculiar nature. This
is not to say that the bill is perfect but for the first time in a long while,
it is a good thing that must be embraced by all well meaning Nigerians. There is
room for further amendments as the time and season permits.
Whatever that needs to be done to provide the
best healthcare possible for our people must encouraged.
I therefore
salute all in the NMA secretariat,other health associations, and all government
agencies that have contributed in one
way or another to get this bill to this stage. I also admire the courage and
resoluteness this present National Assembly has shown in passing this bill.
I pray our
President Goodluck Jonathan gives it an expedite attention and appends his signature on this
all important bill.
Dr Nnanna Agwu
Development consultant/Resident Doctor
twitter @drscopey
blog drnnanna.blogspot.com
Comments
Post a Comment