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Fiji Legislation |
LAWS OF FIJI
CHAPTER 256
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
SECTION
1.
Short
title
2.
Establishment of Nurses and Midwives
Board
3.
Duties of the Board,
etc.
4.
Admission to the
register
5.
None but registered persons entitled to recover
charges
6.
None but registered persons to practise in certain
areas
7.
Penalty for unlawful assumption of title, etc., of registered nurse or
registered
midwife
8.
Rules
9.
Power of the Board to remove from the
register
10.
Application
__________
Ordinances
Nos. 13 of 1948, 25 of 1959, 37 of
1966,
Legal Notice
No. 112 of 1970, Act No. 25 of
1982*
*Section 2(3) of
Act No. 25, of 1982 reads as follows:-
"(3) Section 24 of the Interpretation Act applies in relation to this Act as if the power, under section 2 of the Act as amended by this Act, to make appointments were a power conferred by this Act alone.".
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NURSES FOR THE SICK AND MIDWIVES AND TO REGULATE THEIR PRACTICE
[29 September 1948]
Short title
1.
This Act may be cited as the Nurses and Midwives Act.
Establishment of Nurses and Midwives Board
2.-(1)
There is hereby established a Nurses and Midwives Board consisting
of-
(a) the Permanent Secretary for Health, who shall be chairman;
(b) the Controller of Nursing Services, who shall be the Registrar of Nurses and Midwives;
(c) the Principal, Central Nursing School;
(d) the Senior Matron, Lautoka Hospital;
(e) the Senior Matron, Colonial War Memorial Hospital;
(f) a member, being a registered nurse who has been employed for not less than 5 years as a nurse in charge of other nurses, appointed by the Minister;
(g) a member, being a registered midwife who has been employed for not less than 5 years as a midwife in charge of other midwives, appointed by the Minister; and
(h) 3 other members, being persons registered under this Act, appointed by the Minister.
(Amended by Ordinance 25 of 1959, s. 2; Act 25 of 1982, s. 3.)
(2)
A member appointed to the Board under any of the paragraphs (d) to (h),
inclusive, of subsection (1) shall hold office for 2 years
or for such other
period, not exceeding 2 years, as is specified in the relevant instrument of
appointment, and is eligible for re-appointment.
(Substituted by Act
25 of 1982, s. 3.)
(3) Subject to
subsections (3A) and (3B), the Board shall make standing orders governing its
own procedure and for the appointment
and powers of a deputy chairman.
(Substituted by Act
25 of 1982, s. 3.)
(3A) At a
meeting of the Board-
(a) the chairman or, in the absence of the chairman, the deputy chairman; and
(b) 6 other members,
shall
constitute a quorum.
(Inserted by Act 25
of 1982, s. 3.)
(3B) A person
shall not be appointed as deputy chairman unless that person is a member of the
Board and a registered nurse.
(Inserted by Act 25
of 1982, s. 3.)
(4) It shall be
lawful for the Board to appoint committees and to delegate all or any of its
powers to any such
committee:
Provided that no order
made by a committee under the provisions of section
9
shall be valid or effective unless confirmed by the
Board.
(5) The Board shall be a
body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.
Duties of the Board, etc.
3.-(1)
It shall be the duty of the Board-
(a) to form and keep, in such a manner and in such parts as the Board considers desirable, a register of nurses for the sick and midwives;
(b) to arrange for and regulate courses of training for nurses and midwives and the examination of such persons seeking admission to the register;
(c) to make such provision for the issue of certificates to nurses and midwives registered under this Act and the wearing of badges and uniforms by such persons as the Board consider expedient;
(d) to regulate, supervise and restrict within due limits the practice of nurses and midwives whether registered or not.
(2)
A certificate under the seal of the Board authenticated by the signature of the
chairman and 1 other member stating that any person
is or was at any date, or is
not or was not at any date, duly registered under this Act shall be conclusive
evidence in all courts
of law of the facts stated in such
certificate.
(3) The Registrar of
Nurses and Midwives shall-
(a) perform the duties of secretary to the Board; and
(b) subject to the directions of the Board, have the custody and control of the register. (Inserted by Act 25 of 1982, s. 4.)
Admission to the register
4.
It shall be a condition of admission of a nurse or midwife to the register that
such person-
(a) has undergone a course of training approved or prescribed by the Board in an institution approved, by the Board and has passed, to the satisfaction of the Board, an examination approved by the Board; or
(b) is or has been registered as a nurse or midwife in a country where the standard of training and examination is not lower than that required by this Act and is, in the opinion of the Board, of good character; or
(c) possess such special qualifications as in the opinion of the Board justify the admission of such person to the appropriate part of the register. (Amended by Act 25 of 1982, s. 5.)
None but registered persons entitled to recover charges
5.
No person is not entitled to recover, in any court of law, any charge for
services rendered by that person as a nurse or midwife
unless, at the time those
services were rendered, that person was registered under this Act as a nurse or
a midwife, as the case
requires, proof of which shall lie upon that person.
(Substituted by Act
25 of 1982, s. 6.)
None but registered persons to practise in certain areas
6.-(1)
The provisions of this section shall have effect only in such parts of Fiji as
the. Minister may, by order,
direct.
(2) Any person who, in any
part of Fiji to which this section applies-
(a) not being a registered midwife attends a woman in childbirth otherwise than under the direction and personal supervision of a duly qualified medical practitioner or in a case of sudden or urgent necessity;
(b) not being a registered nurse, nurses a person for gain,
and upon conviction shall be liable to a fine of $100.
Penalty for unlawful assumption of title, etc., of registered nurse or registered midwife
7.
Any person who takes or uses any name, title, description, uniform or badge;
implying that such person is registered as a nurse or
midwife when not so
registered is guilty of an offence
and upon conviction shall be liable
to a fine of $100.
(Amended by Act 25 of
1982, s. 7.)
Rules
8.
The Board may, subject to the approval of the Minister, make
rules-
(a) making such provision as the Board deem expedient for the purpose of enabling it to carry out the duties imposed upon it by the provisions of this Act;
(b) prescribing fees for the examination and registration of nurses and midwives;
(ba) making provision with respect to the practice of nursing and midwifery;
(bb) prescribing penalties not exceeding a fine of fifty dollars for offences against the rules; and
(c) prescribing the conditions under which a person whose name has been struck off the register may be re-admitted thereto. (Amended by Act 25 of 1982, s. 8.)
Power of the Board to remove from the register
9.-(1)
If a registered nurse or registered midwife is convicted either in Fiji or
elsewhere of an offence which, if committed in Fiji,
is punishable by a term of
imprisonment for more than 6 months, or if, after due inquiry and after hearing
the person whose conduct
is in question, the Board is satisfied that a
registered nurse or registered midwife has been guilty of serious misconduct in
a professional
respect, the Board may make an order removing the name of such
person from the register.
(2) A
person whose conduct is the subject of inquiry under this section shall be
entitled to be present during such inquiry and to
be represented by a barrister
and solicitor.
(3) At the
conclusion of such inquiry, the Board shall record its finding and the reasons
therefor and may make an order accordingly,
and shall forthwith notify the
person concerned in writing of such finding and order and, if required, supply
that person with a
copy of its finding and the reasons therefor.
(Amended by Act 25 of
1982, s. 9.)
(4) A person whose
name has been removed from the register may, within 3 months after the date on
which notice to that effect is given
to that person in accordance with
subsection (3), appeal against the removal in manner provided by rules of court
to the Supreme
Court and, on any such appeal, the Supreme Court may give such
directions in the matter as it thinks proper, including directions
as to the
costs of the appeal, and the order of the Supreme Court shall be final and
conclusive and not subject to an appeal to any
other court.
(Amended by Act 25 of
1982, s. 9.)
(5) The Board may, in
its discretion, re-admit to the register any person whose name has been removed
therefrom under the provisions
of this section.
Application
10.
Nothing in this Act relating to nurses or midwives shall apply to a medical
practitioner duly registered under the provisions of
the Medical and Dental
Practitioners Act.
(Amended by Ordinance
37 of 1966, s. 34.) (Cap. 255.)
Controlled
by Ministry of
Health
______
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