The Medical and Dental Practitioners Act is a Federal Statute that regulates everything with regards to medical practitioners. This Act also talks about acts of medical practitioners that will amount to professional negligence, it... more
The Medical and Dental Practitioners Act is a Federal Statute that regulates everything with regards to medical practitioners. This Act also talks about acts of medical practitioners that will amount to professional negligence, it prescribes the duties that medical practitioners owe to their patients and it establishes bodies to handle cases of malpractice or professional misconduct by practitioners. The issue of negligence by practitioners in discharging their duties is something that happens on a daily basis across the world. Recent developments in Nigeria have seen cases of medical negligence by doctors,both in hospitals and other institutions like schools get swept under the rug after a period of time, even in this era where the social media space has become an active tool of advocacy and fight for justice. This article aims at suggesting ways to make sure that medical practitioners actually perform their duties with a reasonable standard of care expected of them. It also aims at making sure that practitioners who violate any ethical code of conduct guiding their profession gets the prescribed punishment provided, and aggrieved parties get enough compensation for damages, even in instances where the negligent act results into the death of a person. With the area of coverage of this article being just limited to Nigeria, it will discuss negligence as a tort, negligence in medical practice by medical practitioners, the standard of care for medical practitioners, review of cases on medical negligence in Nigeria and the defenses that can be raised for medical negligence. This article will also contain reports of its findings and make appropriate recommendations in improving the standard of health care service in Nigeria.
The paper examines deregulation of downstream oil sector and optimal petroleum pricing in Nigeria. Log linear error correction model was adopted to examine how Custom and excise duties (CED), petroleum profit tax (PPT),) and crude oil... more
The paper examines deregulation of downstream oil sector and optimal petroleum pricing in Nigeria. Log linear error correction model was adopted to examine how Custom and excise duties (CED), petroleum profit tax (PPT),) and crude oil production (COP) had impacted on petroleum pricing (PR) in Nigeria. Unit root test was carried out on each of the variables to determine their level of stationarity. Three of the variables were however found stationary after first difference and one after second difference, and then it was safe to proceed with Johansen Cointegration Test. The integrated variables were then used for the regression analysis. The cointegration result showed that the variables used in the model have a long term, or equilibrium relationship between them. The result showed that with deregulation of the downstream oil sector, the amount of levies on importation of petroleum would hike the price of domestic sales of petroleum. This shows that, deregulation would discourage the importation of refined fuel and as such it would encourage foreign direct investment in the oil and gas sector. More so, the result showed that the quantity of crude oil production in Nigeria has been far below the optimal capacity and has contributed positively to petroleum pricing increase over the years in Nigeria. The study thus recommends that appropriate policy that would facilitate economic prosperity for an average citizen in Nigeria through petroleum price reduction should be adopted. The caveat issue to keep in mind is that the petroleum downstream sector deregulation should produce efficiently, effectively and equitably, which could result in durable infrastructures and optimal petroleum pricing for sustainable development of the national economy.
- by Onivehu Julius Beida and +1
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- Management, Economics, Commerce