At Last Lawyers and Doctors Agree on Health Issues
It was a rare occasion, when lawyers and medical doctors converged at the Amber Residence Hotel in Ikeja last Thursday, to brainstorm and agree on professional and ethical issues, common to both professions, with a view to finding areas of agreement, thus, temporarily settling the age long silent war between legal practitioners and medical practitioners.
This was made possible when a leading law firm, Vita Veritas LLP and healthcare service provider, Novo Health Africa jointly hosted a one-day workshop for lawyers and doctors, with the theme 'Ethics in Medical Practice: the Need for Protocols in Healthcare Delivery'.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Partner of Vita Veritas LLP, Mr. Steve Agbeyegbe, stated that the general perception is that lawyers and doctors are strange bedfellows, and that this need not be.
He said "The time has come for the narrative to change.
"Patients don’t know their rights, and doctors don’t know their obligations.
"Doctors and lawyers can work together to improve on healthcare delivery in Nigeria and to protect the integrity of both medical and legal practitioners".
The Managing Director and CEO of Novo Health Africa, Dr. Dorothy Jeff-Nnamani in her paper ‘Doctor-Patients Communications: Rights and Responsibilities’, urged doctors to create a good working relationship with lawyers, if they don’t already have one. According her, when things go awry, doctors need lawyers for legal protection against litigation, whether in the area or errors or ethics.
On why the initiative for doctors and lawyers to come together on healthcare delivery matters, Dr. Jeff Nnamani said "Novo Health Africa and Vita Veritas, took the bold step to come together for this workshop to find ways to improve on healthcare delivery outcomes.
"We are determined to create that awareness, that the doctor-patient relationship should be geared towards a patient centred perspective. That way, we will reduce medical errors and also enhance medical malpractice suits, if need be".
Agbeyegbe on his part said "this symposium is one of a kind. We intend to train practitioners on Alternative Dispute Resolution in healthcare delivery. The idea is that, when disputes arise in patient-doctor relationship, such disputes can be settled through ADR, which is quicker, cheaper and easier than conventional litigation.
"Doctors and lawyers are not enemies, if both professionals can agree; it will certainly be in the best interest of patients. It is not easy and it might take time, but we will get there.
Yes, certainly the time has come for an umbrella body, for doctors and lawyers to collaborate and synergise, as in the interest of healthcare".