PBoR: FCCPC urges healthcare professionals to strengthen patient care regulation

*Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission welcomes the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Mrs. Peju Ugboma, noting that ‘Premier failed to exercise due diligence prior to the procedure; and provided substandard or suboptimal care from a corporate responsibility standpoint’, and infringed Right 11 of the Commission’s Patients’ Bill of Rights

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has welcomed the robust and detailed decision of the Coroner in the case of the Inquest into the death of Mrs. Peju Ugboma, who underwent a procedure at Premier Medical Centre (“Premier”), Victoria Island, Lagos.

ConsumerConnect reports the regulatory Commission in an update issued Friday, March 10, 2023, noted it had opened an investigation upon the death of Mrs. Ugboma with the expectation that consumer protection issues associated with the duty and standard of care would be addressed.

The FCCPC, however, said the full extent of that investigation only became possible under the auspices of the Lagos State Coroner during this Inquest.

The Commission stated that its team, led personally by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the regulatory Commission, joined as a party before the Inquest and participated fully.

It noted: “The findings and conclusions of the Coroner are instructive, and validate why the FCCPC was concerned and investigated this occurrence.

“The Coroner’s conclusion that Premier failed to exercise due diligence prior to the procedure; and provided substandard or suboptimal care from a corporate responsibility standpoint underscores the importance and validity of the FCCPC’s role in this case and other medical cases, as well as infringed Right 11 of the FCCPC’s Patients’ Bill of Rights (PBoR).

According to FCCPC, the PBoR iterates the right to quality care in accordance with prevailing standards and several relevant provisions of the FCCPA.

“The same is the case with respect to the Coroner’s conclusion that Premier failed to exercise appropriate care and standards in patient care by making careless entries and poorly documenting case notes in monitoring the deceased, making prompt appropriate intervention problematic.

“The conclusion that Premier failed in the duty of care it owed to the patient, including by an unwillingness to consider reassessments or further procedures where applicable and not having appropriate medical devices/equipment commensurate to the services or reasonable expectations associated with the services it was providing, possibly contributed to the unfortunate outcome in this case,” stated the Commission.

The FCCPC also stressed this situation underscores the role and need for strengthening patient care regulation, in addition to, and apart from individual practitioner professional regulation in Nigeria.

The Commission expressed appreciation to Lagos State, the Coroner in this case, and other parties to the inquest, such as Evercare Hospital for the commitment demonstrated through this process.

It further noted though Mrs. Ugboma is gone, the Commission, again,  commiserated with her family for this loss.

It as well thanked them for the demonstrated interest in improving healthcare outcomes for other other Nigerians, and allowing her passing to contribute to a legacy of improvement and better healthcare outcomes for consumers in the West African country.

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