Doctors and nurses in Abia State hospitals have been instructed to prioritize saving lives over payment demands when handling emergency cases. The directive was issued during a training session in Umuahia for medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians, aimed at preparing Patients Liaison Officers for state hospitals. Dr. Nnenna Ihekoromadu, Chief Executive Officer of Quantus Medical Foundation, emphasized that no patient should be abandoned in emergency situations due to inability to pay. She stressed that medical workers must stabilize and treat such patients before seeking payment. Ihekoromadu also urged healthcare workers to use soft words and show close care to patients, warning that harsh language worsens the healing process. Accountability for the quality of care provided, she said, should extend to all medical staff on duty. The training highlighted the need for improved patient-personnel relationships across Nigerian healthcare facilities. Ihekoromadu called on the Nigerian government to improve welfare packages for medical workers to support better service delivery.
The same government asking doctors not to turn away emergency patients over money has not committed to covering those unpaid bills or compensating hospitals for the care given. If medical staff are expected to treat indigent patients without upfront payment, then the state must step in to bear the cost—otherwise the directive places doctors in a bind between ethics and survival. Patients in Abia may now face less outright rejection, but without a clear funding mechanism, the order risks being symbolic rather than practical. The burden ultimately remains shared between underpaid doctors and poor patients.
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