Minister of Health, Prof. Mohammed Pate, has mandated medical practitioners to comply with the Gunshot Act, by providing prompt treatment and care for gunshot victims in order to prevent the premature death of victims.
Similarly, Prof. Pate called on the police to comply with the Act and enforce the provision of compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots.
The 2017 Gunshot Act provides that apart from providing prompt treatment and care for victims, it also reassured health facilities that the treatment of gunshot victims is not illegal.
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The minister expressed concern about the rise of gunshot incidents and the refusal of some health facilities to administer treatment to victims without police report.
A statement issued by the Director of Communication in the Ministry of Health, Patience Dewoetishe, quoted Prof. Pate, as reiterating that the Act stipulates that “every hospital in Nigeria, whether public or private shall accept or receive for immediate and offer adequate any patient with gunshot wounds treatment with or without police clearance.
“Every person including security agents shall render every possible assistance to any person with gunshot wounds and ensure that person is taken to the hospital for immediate treatment.”
