11.—(1) The licensee of a private hospital or a healthcare establishment shall establish one or more quality assurance committees to —
(a)
monitor and evaluate the quality and appropriateness of the services provided and the practices and procedures carried out at the private hospital or healthcare establishment ;
(b)
identify and resolve problems that may have arisen in connection with any service provided or any practice or procedure carried out at the private hospital or healthcare establishment ;
(c)
make recommendations to improve the quality of the services provided and the practices and procedures carried out at the private hospital or healthcare establishment ; and
(d)
monitor the implementation of the recommendations made under paragraph (c).
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(2) The licensee of a private hospital or a healthcare establishment shall report to the Director the activities, findings and recommendations of each quality assurance committee of the private hospital or healthcare establishment as and when required by the Director.
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(3) A person who is or was a member of a quality assurance committee is neither competent nor compellable —
(a)
to produce before any court, tribunal, board or person any document in his possession or under his control that was created by, at the request of or solely for the purpose of the quality assurance committee; or
(b)
to disclose to any court, tribunal, board or person any information that has come to his knowledge as a member of the quality assurance committee.
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(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply to a requirement made by any court, tribunal, board or person for the production of any document or the disclosure of any information in proceedings in respect of any act or omission by a quality assurance committee or by a person as a member of a quality assurance committee, unless the Director directs otherwise.
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(5) A finding or recommendation by a quality assurance committee as to the need for changes or improvements in relation to any service provided or any practice or procedure carried out at a private hospital or a healthcare establishment is not admissible in any proceedings as evidence that the service, practice or procedure is or was inappropriate or inadequate.
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(6) Anything done by a quality assurance committee, a member of a quality assurance committee or any person acting under the direction of a quality assurance committee in good faith for the purposes of the exercise of the quality assurance committee’s functions, does not subject such a member or person personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.
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(7) Without limiting subsection (6), a member of a quality assurance committee has qualified privilege in proceedings for defamation in respect of —
(a)
any statement made orally or in writing in the exercise of the functions of a member; or
(b)
the contents of any report or other information published by the quality assurance committee.
