A Nigerian hospital that sees an emergency patient and does nothing for hours could soon be breaking the law. On Wednesday, the Senate passed for second reading a bill that would force public and private hospitals to begin assessing emergency patients within 15 minutes of arrival, with jail time and fines for those that don’t.
The National Health Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 is sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua of Katsina Central. It builds on Section 20 of the National Health Act, 2014, which already bars hospitals from refusing emergency treatment but sets no timelines for what must happen once a patient walks in. This bill adds them, according to Daily Trust and The Nigeria Lawyer.
The clock the bill sets
A hospital would have to begin triage and initial assessment within 15 minutes of a patient arriving, and a trained, certified nurse can do it if no doctor is available. Basic stabilisation, including oxygen, IV fluids and pain relief, must start within 30 minutes. A patient who needs admission must be given a bed within two hours, subject to availability. Where a transfer is needed, the hospital must dispatch an ambulance or other transport within 30 minutes of deciding to refer, and complete the referral within three hours.
Staff who handle emergencies would have to be trained and certified at intervals of no more than 18 months, using a national emergency care curriculum that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria would build together.
The penalty
A person or health facility that breaks the rules faces a fine of up to ₦300,000, up to six months in prison, or both. The bill also protects health workers who act in good faith within documented resource limits.
What senators said
Yar’Adua told the chamber the amendment is “simple in its purpose but profound in its effect,” and said it is meant to prevent avoidable deaths from delays, whatever a patient’s wealth or status, Voice of Nigeria reports. Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno backed criminal liability for providers who deliberately abandon patients.
Not everyone was fully sold. Senator Francis Faduyile warned against criminalising health workers before gaps in staffing, equipment, drugs and funding are addressed. Senators also raised hospitals that demand police reports or deposits before treating gunshot victims, which the bill does not directly address.
The bill is not law yet. Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred it to the Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), which has four weeks to report back.
