Firm canvases for patients’ right in healthcare industry
Prospects brighten for Nigeria in keeping with the increasing demand for quality healthcare in the country; the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) in collaboration with BeyHealth Consulting is canvassing for patients’ right in the healthcare industry.
The breadth of health-related socioeconomic challenges faced by African populations is often complicated by a recognisable pattern of weakened accountability; inequalities and chronic underfunding of health and social care systems and absence of coherent administrative systems necessary to service quality excellence and enforceable legislation across the region.
Driven by this principle, the firms continuously strive to provide international standards of healthcare of a medico-legal framework for maintaining professional performance standards, support consumer protection, enhance patient safety standards and service quality excellence on behalf of the general public.
Adetokunbo Shitta-Bey, CEO, BeyHealth Consulting and BeyHealth Foundation for Health and Social Care said the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Medicine, Accountability and Law’, is an important one because Nigerians are facing numerous challenges in the Nigeria health sector.
“Not only do we have to look at the doctors and nurses, but also at the issues that involves their professional performance and how regulated the sector is. When we begin to do that, we can then look at the level of protection the patient actually has from poor performance and other issues like that,” Shitta-Bey said.
Shitta-Bey further said that patients go to Medical and Dental Council Tribunal, but most of these cases are not prosecuted in the court of law.
“There is a lot that can be done at the point the incident takes place, to the time when the patient gets justice. It comes back to regulating the healthcare industry.
“Insurance is a huge part of that. When there is medical insurance, it will indemnify the patient against any negligence that comes from the Doctor’s practice, because there is a source that will pay out if there is a problem; this will help us to improve performance standard and safety regulations” he added.
Olumide Akpata, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association said, “What we are looking at how to protect the patient and also create a new area of practice, because we want more lawyers practicing in this area to help the patient get justice, we know it is systemic and we want to improve the regulation by advocating patient right.
“There is a board acceptance of the need for an accountability framework designed to ensure service quality and regulation of patient safety standards at all level of practice throughout the healthcare sector” said Babatunde Irukera, Director General, Consumer Protection Council, while speaking on the consumer protection and patient safety standard
“The most important thing is that for those people who consume healthcare services which is all Nigerians in some senses, is for them to know their rights, demand for them, and insist on their rights and to the healthcare providers should be able to know those rights and rendering them” Irukera added.
Anthonia Obokoh