Nigerian Health Minister, Dr Muhammad Pate has told hospitals to prioritize saving patients’ lives over requesting police reports before administering treatment.
Pate said this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.
His statement was in response to the growing trend of medical practitioners requesting police reports before treating patients with gunshot wounds.
He stressed that medical practitioners must be security conscious in their practice but must also ensure that the needful was done to give at least first aid treatment that may prevent death when emergency cases are brought into their facilities.
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The Minister added that the move has been welcomed by the Federal Government and also stakeholders in the health sector who have agreed that a premium must be placed on saving lives during emergencies rather than request for police reports by medical practitioners before administering treatment.
He said:
“Recently there have been concerns about patients who show up at the emergency facilities and police reports being asked about gunshots or accidents. That’s really unfortunate, but in all federal teaching hospitals, for instance, I was in Maiduguri at the weekend, life has to be saved first.
“Life first and we have reemphasised that. All our hospitals I believe are doing that. No person should come with an emergency, or life-threatening challenge and be made to lose their life while awaiting police report.
“Saving lives comes first and that is the direction we have given; that is what we would pursue and we hope that all hospitals including private hospitals will have this mindset that in health, it’s save lives first.”
