Re: passage of National Health Law; Medical experts lash out at Falana January 1, 2015 | Filed under: Legal Business | Author: Editor Medical experts in Nigeria have lashed back at human rights lawyer, Femi Falana for faulting the newly passed National Health Act, 2014. Speaking on the issue, a medical practitioner, Alao Moses said, “I never knew the learned lawyer is so unlettered. In all emergency situations all over the world, the decision as to what to do is left to the medical practitioners, the ethics of the profession and to wit, the regulating body, the medical council. No single professional arrogates authority in emergency situations but in consultations with other providers. That much, we know. He should be properly guided.” It would be recalled that the rights advocate had at a press briefing on Monday raised alarm over the National Health Bill passed by the National Assembly and recently signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, saying it was a licence for medical practitioners to kill and that it would also promote the trade in human parts. Citing Section 48 of the National Health Act, 2014, Falana alleged that the National Assembly has violated the fundamental rights of Nigerians to life, human dignity, privacy and freedom of thought, conscience and religion by authorising medical doctors to remove organ of living persons in Nigeria without their informed consent. Defending the new law, another medical practitioner, Dr. N.A Okunola, explained that the clause being referred to above does not pave way for any abuse of human right. He said, “I will cite some specific examples to buttress the need for such a clause. First, let us imagine the victim of a road accident who is in shock as a result of massive blood loss; this is an emergency that requires urgent blood grouping and cross matching. In such situations, the patient may not be conscious. We do take blood samples for urgent investigation so as to save the patient. Secondly, do imagine a case of poisoning where the patient is not conscious and you have to do blood analysis to determine the kind of poison (toxicology). Without this, one may not know the appropriate antidote. The clause being referred to also has conditions attached to it. The action taken in emergency situations will be in accordance with the prescribed protocol by the appropriate authority. Throwing some more light on the issue, Dr. Okunola explained that for consent to be valid, it must be given before the intervention/treatment is initiated; the proposed treatment or test must be clearly understood by the patient; It must be given voluntarily, the doctor giving the treatment must make sure the patient gives a valid consent and patient must have CAPACITY (i.e. can understand, believe, retain and weigh the necessary information). “You will agree with me that a victim of accident in shock and semiconscious cannot give a valid consent. Therefore, to wave the consent clause in such situation is not an abuse of human right. We are only saving the victim’s life,” Okunola stated. Falana, in his address to the media, stated that the provisions of the Act waiving the consent of Nigerians with regard to nature of medical treatments and donation of human parts portends danger. He, therefore, called for an immediate stoppage of the implementation of the law. “We wish to point out that the National Assembly has violated the fundamental rights of Nigerians to life, human dignity, privacy and freedom of thought, conscience and religion by authorising medical doctors to remove organ of living persons in Nigeria without their informed consent.” He stated. One Response to Re: passage of National Health Law; Medical experts lash out at Falana It is one thing to know how to open our mouth so the public could hear us speak,but do we always talk sense? Falana should be properly guided and stop confusing the people of nigeria by discrediting what is good for the general public.if the doctors who are competent on their profession can give kudos to the law makers for passing the bill ,it would be better for this advocate to respect the humble decision of our Honourable law makers and. Stop confusing us. Or he should go amd study medicine. So as to be able to interpret medical codes
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 14:57:26 +0000
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