Medical Consultant advocates insurance scheme for doctors

A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Professor Innocent Ujah has advocated the establishment of a Medical Insurance Scheme to protect practicing medical doctors in the country.

Ujah who spoke at a seminar on Professional Negligence in Medical Practice in Lafia, said the trend of indiscriminate litigations arising from alleged negligence against medical doctors was becoming worrisome such that there should be an insurance cover for the doctors in Nigeria.

He observed that the increasing court cases against medical doctors in the country called for proactive measures towards protecting them from unnecessary spending and distractions from their duties.

Ujah who cautioned medical doctors to uphold the ethics guiding the profession and be humane in carrying out their duties by ensuring prompt attention to emergencies, urged the public against distracting medical cases. While enumerating major causes of negligence in the medical profession to include, poor funding and lack of commitment, Ujah called for synergy between medical professionals, government and the public in order to move the health sector forward.

Also speaking, Medical Director Dalhatu Araf Specialists Hospital Lafia, Dr. Hassan Ikrama said the seminar was designed to remind doctors of the rights of the patients and what is expected of them.