IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL EVALUATION AND PHYSICAL REPORT (IJMEPR )

E-ISSN 2579-0498
P-ISSN 2695-2181
VOL. 8 NO. 6 2024
DOI: 10.56201/ijmepr.v8.no6.2024.pg75.81

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A Study of The Experience of Litigation By Healthcare Providers At The Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, South East Nigeria

Onoh, L. U.M.

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Abstract

Aim; To study the experience of litigation by Health Care Providers (HCP) at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, South East, Nigeria Method; A total of 300 heath care providers comprising 274 medical doctors and 26 Nurses working at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH) were studied during the period February to June 2021. Their demographic characteristics like age, marital status and number of years of practice were taken. They were questioned on their experience of litigation in the course of carrying out their duties in medical practice. Results; Most of the respondents fell within the age group 30-39years while the least number fell between the age group 50-59years. Concerning the number of years of practice, the greatest number of respondents said they had been in practice for 6-10years. 35 respondents claimed they have faced litigation in the past 5years while 4 of those 35 respondents claimed the experience was stressful. In table 4, 19 respondents said they had faced a panel of enquiry in the hospital while 16 out of the 19 said the reason for their arraignment was because of negligence. In Table 5, 153 respondents who claimed that they knew of their colleagues involved in malpractice but were not taken to court said they did not know the reason for their non prosecution while others declared various reasons for their not being prosecuted. Conclusion; Litigation in medical practice as experienced by the HCP in ESUTH Enugu has not been as common as expected since only 35 (11.67%) of the 300 respondents had experienced litigation. This may largely be attributed to the high level of ignorance and illiteracy among the members of the community. Most relations of patients who die out of negligence or malpractice by HCPs decide to leave the judgment to God rather than go through the rigorous process of the legal tussle to seek redress in court. This is even made worse by the fact that the court

keywords:

Experience of litigation, Health Care Providers, Enugu State University Teaching

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