BREAKING: Resident Doctors Threaten Nationwide Strike Over Proposed Jail Terms

• Resident doctors have threatened nationwide industrial action over the emergency care bill, warning against punishing health workers for hospital failures beyond their control.

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has warned that it could consider nationwide industrial action if lawmakers proceed with proposed criminal penalties for delays in emergency treatment.

The Nigerian Medical Association has also opposed the provisions, arguing that doctors must not face prosecution for failures caused by inadequate staffing, equipment shortages and poorly funded hospitals.

NARD said its decision-making organs would consider lawful options, including a strike, if its concerns remained unresolved. The warning does not announce the commencement of a nationwide strike.

The associations said they supported timely treatment and professional accountability but wanted lawmakers to distinguish deliberate misconduct from circumstances outside a practitioner’s control.

Their concerns include unreliable electricity, unavailable oxygen, shortages of blood and essential medicines, and inadequate ambulance services. They called for wider consultation and investment in emergency-care facilities.

The proposed amendment to the National Health Act, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua of Katsina Central, passed second reading in the Senate on Wednesday, November 4.

It seeks to introduce enforceable standards for public and private healthcare facilities, including initial assessment within 15 minutes of arrival and basic stabilisation within 30 minutes.

Violations could attract a fine of up to ₦300,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.

The proposal also includes protections for practitioners unable to meet the timelines because of resource constraints, subject to documenting the circumstances, following referral procedures and reporting the incident to the appropriate authority. It remains a bill undergoing legislative consideration.

NARD nevertheless maintains that the safeguards require clearer and more enforceable wording to prevent doctors from being criminally liable for institutional shortcomings.