FACULTY OF LAW
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Browsing FACULTY OF LAW by Author "OFOEGBU, Helen Ihunna"
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Item THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF SURGICAL PATIENTS ON THE DUTIES AND LIABILITIES OF SURGEONS IN NIGERIA(University of Ilorin, 2017) OFOEGBU, Helen IhunnaThe medical profession is one of the most sensitive careers because it deals with the survival of human beings. However, the medical experts, while discharging their duties are occasionally negligent in strict adherence to the established Professional Code of Conduct. In Nigeria, there exists a myriad of delinquencies in which the medical personnel involved go scot free because of legally perceived obstacles in enforcing such rights. Therefore, the objectives were to: (i) examine the adequacy of the legal framework on the liabilities of professional surgeons; (ii) analyse the legal implications of the breach of duty in the surgical profession; (iii) examine judicial attitude to the rights of a patient in surgical negligence; and (iv) measure the performance of surgeons in the discharge of their professional and legal obligations. The study employed qualitative and quantitative methodology of legal research. For the qualitative aspect, doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods were used for the analysis. The doctrinal method placed reliance on both primary and secondary sources of law. The nondoctrinal involved interviews carried out on stakeholders. Seventy stakeholders (20 surgeons, 30 surgical patients and 20 surgical nurses) were interviewed in University College Hospital, Ibadan, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, National Hospital, Abuja and Abia State Teaching Hospital, Aba. These hospitals were chosen because of high calibre of surgeons and the number of surgeries being carried out each day. The quantitative aspect involved a field work, where copies of questionnaires were distributed to the respondents to ascertain the degree of negligence and assess the performance of surgeons in the discharge of their professional and legal obligations. Copies of 870 questionnaires were administered in the four hospitals, 800 were returned while 580 were found usable. Descriptive statistics tool was used to analyse the quantitative aspect of this work. The findings of the study were that: i. There was no adequate enabling laws to regulate medical practices in Nigeria especially in relation to surgeons’ negligence; ii. Medical negligence is the legal consequence of the breach of duty in medical profession, yet, this requires proof of certain elements which are usually difficult for patients; iii. The judicial attitude has made access to justice to patients more tasking with stringent rules thereby leading to numerous cases being dismissed on grounds of technicalities and victims are left with no remedy whatsoever; and iv. Surgeons are doing fairly well in the performance of their duties though there are rooms for improvement as 75.0% of patients revealed that the operation was properly carried out whereas 25.0% said their operations were not properly carried out. The surgeons responded that 59.5% of all the surgeries performed by them were successful. The study concluded that inadequate legal framework on medical practice is inimical to the protection of patient’s rights pertaining to cases of surgical negligence and performance of the duties of surgeons. The study therefore recommended that the existing laws be amended in terms of punishment for surgical negligence and general regulation of medical practice in Nigeria.