Delta House of Assembly, on Wednesday, passed a bill on compulsory treatment and care of gunshot victims.
The bill’s passage followed the adoption of the motion moved by majority leader, Ferguson Onwo, at the plenary presided over by Deputy Speaker Christopher Ochor in Asaba.
Presenting the bill, Mr Onwo said that it would help speed up the treatment and care of gunshot victims when signed into law.
He also said the bill would help to abolish the request for police reports by most healthcare providers before commencing treatment of gunshot victims.
The majority leader, thereafter, moved the motion suspending Order 12, Rules 79, 80, 81, 82 and 83 to enable the assembly to take the third reading and passage of the bill.
The lawmakers unanimously adopted the motion when put to a voice vote by the deputy speaker.
While commending the lawmakers for the bill’s speedy passage, he said that it had placed duty on hospitals and other healthcare providers to administer treatment to gunshot victims, irrespective of the circumstances of the case.
“Most people have lost their loved ones to avoidable deaths due to demand for police reports by hospitals before giving treatment to gunshot victims.
“With the passage of this bill, we have solved a puzzle that has bedevilled our society for a long time,” he said.
Speaking with reporters shortly after the passage, the bill’s sponsor, Charles Oniyere, representing Ughelli North I Constituency, said it was targeted at saving life first.
Mr Oniyere also said there was a penalty for healthcare providers who failed to attend to victims of gunshots.
“All we have done today is to domesticate an existing federal law which most people at the grassroots are not aware of,” he said.
(NAN)
