• 1 in 5 patients experience harm, 250,000 die of medical errors yearly
• AMLSN flays exclusion of medical lab scientists from FGs patient-safety committees
• Experts condemn attacks on healthcare workers

As Nigeria joins the global community to mark 2026 World Patient Safety Day today, concerns have been raised over the persistence of avoidable harm in healthcare facilities, with health and legal experts urging the government to strengthen safeguards across the health system to prevent avoidable deaths and injuries.

The call comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that about one in every 10 patients is harmed while receiving healthcare globally, with around half of such harm considered preventable.

In Nigeria, the ratio is one in five patients who experience harm during healthcare, while about 250,000 people die yearly due to medical errors.

According to the WHO, unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems across the world.

Experts identify medication errors, diagnostic errors, healthcare-associated infections, unsafe procedures, and problems during transitions between healthcare providers as sources of preventable harm.

They argued that patient safety must become a priority in healthcare delivery, with health facilities encouraged to report incidents, learn from mistakes and establish systems that prevent the recurrence of avoidable harm.

Amid a spike in medical errors, Nigeria is witnessing increased attacks on doctors and other healthcare workers by aggrieved and frustrated patients and family members over perceived medical negligence.

As of June 2026, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) reported assaults across at least 17 major tertiary hospitals, driven by intense public frustration.

Health experts described the situation as unacceptable and a punishable offence, stressing the need for affected patients or family members to seek redress through the appropriate channel.

In an interview with The Guardian, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Friday Okonofua, said that medical negligence is widespread in Nigeria just as elsewhere in the world, adding that about one in every 10 patients worldwide is harmed in healthcare.

Okonofua stated that a large proportion of medical errors are unreported in Nigeria, adding that only those that result in severe complications and death are known and reported.

He explained that medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional or a health institution fails to provide the expected standard of care, thereby causing harm to the patient.

Okonofua, who is also the Vice-President of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), stated that the Rules of Professional Conduct for Medical and Dental Practitioners, also known as the Code of Medical Ethics, stipulate several instances that would amount to medical negligence, including wrong diagnosis, incorrect or inappropriate treatment, surgical errors or failure to inform patients of possible risks.

To prevent negligence, Okonofua suggested that the capacity of regulatory agencies, such as the Medical and Dental Council, to enforce standards should be strengthened, and that healthcare infrastructure should be improved by providing better facilities.

President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, said that laboratory services account for more than 70 per cent of clinical decisions, patient management, disease surveillance and public health planning, underscoring the critical role of accurate laboratory diagnosis in healthcare.

Ifeanyi reckons that Nigeria’s healthcare system is putting patients at risk by failing to institutionalise quality management systems and accredited medical laboratory services in public hospitals, adding that any compromises in the quality of care put patients in harm’s way and undermine patient safety.

He argued that one of the major reasons diagnostic errors persist is the failure of healthcare facilities and laboratories to operate within recognised quality standards.

Ifeanyi identified ISO 15189:2022 as the global standard for medical laboratories, stating that laboratory testing, whether conducted in government or private hospitals or clinics, or through point-of-care testing, should comply with the standard.

The AMLSN president observed that laboratory data influence most clinical decisions made in the diagnosis and management of patients.

“The outcome of over 80 per cent of care derives from the quality of medical laboratory data or results or reports, which informs well over 70 per cent of the clinical decisions in the treatment and management of patients,” Ifeanyi said.

Beyond accreditation, Ifeanyi identified quackery and weak regulation as major threats to patient safety. He alleged that a significant proportion of diagnostic errors in Nigeria were attributable to unqualified persons presenting themselves as medical laboratory scientists and conducting tests without the requisite training or professional oversight.

He said a laboratory should be a purpose-built facility staffed by appropriately qualified professionals.
Ifeanyi added that hospitals must institutionalise broad-based quality management systems to cover every process in healthcare facilities.

He explained that a quality management system would not necessarily eliminate every error but would aid the quick identification of errors and prompt corrective action before they cause serious harm.

Also speaking with The Guardian, a medical law consultant and founder of Lawyers Arise for People Initiative (LAP), Ebenezer Egwuatu, cited fatigue, poor communication, illegible handwriting, confusing drug names, mistaken identity, language barriers, and inadequate handover between healthcare workers as potential sources of medical errors.

Egwuatu emphasised that patients who suffer harm from avoidable medical errors have legal rights to seek redress, but ignorance, poor documentation, financial constraints and prolonged court battles continue to make it difficult for many victims to obtain justice.

He said the National Health Act 2014 and the Patients’ Bill of Rights guarantee patients’ fundamental protections, including the right to information and informed consent.

According to him, a patient must be told the nature of the ailment, available treatment options, the cost implications, probable side effects and material risks associated with each option, as well as the right to refuse treatment.

He explained that informed consent is only meaningful when patients have first been given sufficient information to make an informed decision.

Egwuatu advised victims to begin with administrative redress by filing a complaint with the hospital’s management. Where that fails, he said, patients can seek professional redress through the Medical and Dental Council, which regulates doctors and their practice.

He stated that one of the biggest obstacles facing victims is not necessarily the absence of legal remedies, but ignorance of how to use them.

Beyond ignorance, Egwuatu identified evidence gathering, cost, prolonged litigation and emotional trauma as major barriers to justice.

He alleged that while most healthcare professionals act professionally, some practitioners have been accused of withholding or tampering with medical records, documents that may be crucial to proving a negligence claim.

Egwuatu called for Nigeria to embrace what is known internationally as the duty of candour, a culture in which healthcare professionals openly acknowledge when something has gone wrong, apologise where appropriate and use the incident as an opportunity to prevent a recurrence.

Egwuatu stressed, however, that candour should not shield deliberate criminal conduct. “We are not saying eliminate punishment. Somebody who did organ harvesting cannot hide under duty of candour,” he said.

He further warned hospitals against disclosing patients’ medical information without proper authorisation, noting that confidentiality and privacy are protected under Nigerian law.

On his part, medical law and ethics expert and Chief Executive Officer of Patient Academy International, Mr Kunle Thomas, said addressing avoidable harm required greater awareness among patients and healthcare workers, as well as stronger attention to the systems within which care is delivered.

Thomas expressed concern that many Nigerians remained insufficiently aware of their fundamental rights in healthcare and the duty of care owed to them by healthcare providers.

He said such attitudes could prevent potentially serious incidents from being properly investigated, leaving the underlying causes unaddressed and potentially exposing other patients to similar risks.

He urged patients to ask questions and speak up when something goes wrong, stressing that doing so should not be interpreted as disrespectful or as making unreasonable demands on healthcare providers.

On measures to reduce avoidable harm in healthcare facilities, Thomas identified continuous education and training as essential for healthcare workers.

He said developments in medicine, including advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, made continuous professional development increasingly important, rather than relying solely on knowledge acquired during medical training.

Thomas also identified infection prevention and control as a critical component of patient safety, noting that patients could enter healthcare facilities for one condition and acquire another infection while receiving treatment.

He stressed the importance of basic infection-control measures, including proper hand hygiene, the use of hand sanitiser and maintaining clean healthcare environments, to reduce preventable infections.