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Nurses and Midwives Bill

Bill No. 14/1975

Read the first time on 3rd March 1975.

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the registration and enrolment of nurses and midwives; and for other matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Nurses and Midwives Act, 1975 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Board” means the Singapore Nursing Board established under section 3;

“enrolled nurse” means a nurse whose name is included in any part of the roll of nurses;

“register” means the register of nurses or the register of midwives maintained in pursuance of section 5, as the case may be, or both the register of nurses and the register of midwives;

“registered midwife” means a midwife whose name is included in the register of midwives;

“registered nurse” means a nurse whose name is included in any part of the register of nurses;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Board appointed under section 4;

“roll” means the roll of nurses maintained in pursuance of paragraph (b) of section 5, and “enrolled” shall be construed accordingly.

Establishment and constitution of Singapore Nursing Board

3.—(1) There shall be established a body to be called the “Singapore Nursing Board” which shall have such powers and duties as are conferred or imposed on it by the provisions of this Act.

(2) The Board shall consist of —

(a)	the Director of Medical Services who shall be the Chairman of the Board;
(b)	the Director of Education or his representative;
(c)	the Deputy Director of Medical Services (Hospitals);
(d)	the Deputy Director of Medical Services (Health);
(e)	the Chief Nursing Officer;
(f)	the Principal Nursing Officer (Tutor);
(g)	a Principal Nursing Officer in the service of the Government to be appointed by the Minister;
(h)	five persons who are registered nurses, one of whom shall be a Higher Nursing Officer (Tutor) in general nursing, to be appointed by the Minister;
(i)	two persons who are registered midwives, one of whom shall be a Higher Nursing Officer (Tutor) in midwifery, to be appointed by the Minister; and
(j)	three other persons to be appointed by the Minister.

(3) The provisions of the Schedule shall have effect with respect to the Board.

Appointment of Registrar

4. The Minister shall appoint a Registrar of the Board who shall be responsible for the preparation, maintenance and custody of the register and the roll and who shall act as secretary to the Board.

Duties of the Board

5. It shall be the duty of the Board —

(a)	to maintain, in accordance with the regulations made in that behalf by the Board, a register of nurses which shall consist of the names of all nurses who satisfy the conditions of admission thereto;
(b)	to maintain, in accordance with the regulations made in that behalf by the Board, a roll of nurses which shall consist of the names of all nurses who satisfy the conditions of admission thereto;
(c)	to maintain, in accordance with the regulations made in that behalf by the Board, a register of midwives which shall consist of the names of all midwives who satisfy the conditions of admission thereto;
(d)	to provide for the training, education and examination, by the Board or by any other body, of persons seeking to be registered or enrolled as nurses or registered as midwives;
(e)	to determine and set the syllabus, the contents of courses of instruction and examinations leading to the qualifications of persons as registered or enrolled nurses or as registered midwives; and
(f)	to regulate, maintain and improve the standards of practice and conduct of nurses and midwives.

General provisions as to admission to the register and the roll

6.—(1) The Board shall make regulations for regulating the conditions of admission to the register and to the roll respectively and the conduct of any examinations which may be prescribed as a condition of admission thereto and any matters ancillary to or connected with any such examinations, and any such regulations may contain provisions —

(a)	requiring, as a condition of the admission of any person to the register or the roll, that that person shall have undergone the prescribed training, and shall possess the prescribed experience, in nursing or midwifery;
(b)	requiring that the prescribed training shall be carried out in an institution approved by the Board in that behalf; and
(c)	requiring, as a condition of the admission of any person to the register or the roll, that that person shall prove to the satisfaction of the Board that she is of good character.

(2) There shall be paid to the Board in respect of every application to be examined or to be registered or enrolled under this Act such fees respectively as the Board may, with the approval of the Minister, from time to time determine.

General provisions as to the register and the roll

7.—(1) Each entry in the register or the roll shall include, with respect to the person to whom the entry relates, an indication of the grounds upon which she became entitled to be registered or enrolled as a nurse or registered as a midwife under this Act or any previous written law.

(2) The Registrar shall as soon as may be after the 1st day of January of every year prepare and publish in the Gazette a list of the names, addresses and qualifications of all persons whose names appear in the register and the roll on the 1st day of January immediately preceding the publication of the list in the Gazette.

(3) The publication of such a list shall be prima facie evidence that the persons named therein are registered or enrolled as nurses or registered as midwives, as the case may be.

(4) The absence of the name of any person from the list shall be prima facie evidence that that person is not a registered or enrolled nurse or registered midwife, as the case may be.

(5) A certificate under the hand of the Registrar that the name of any person has been entered in or removed from the register or the roll shall be conclusive evidence that that person is or is not a registered or enrolled nurse or registered midwife, as the case may be.

Removal from the register or the roll

8.—(1) The Board may by order remove the name of any nurse or midwife from the register or the roll if the Board is satisfied that that nurse or midwife —

(a)	has failed to pay any prescribed annual fee; or
(b)	has obtained registration or enrolment by any fraudulent or incorrect statement; or
(c)	has been registered or enrolled through error as to her qualifications for registration or enrolment; or
(d)	has had her registration or enrolment as a nurse or her registration as a midwife, as the case may be, withdrawn, suspended or cancelled by any body outside Singapore being a body concerned with the registration or enrolment of nurses or registration of midwives in a country outside Singapore; or
(e)	has been convicted of an offence which in the opinion of the Board renders her unfit to remain on the register or the roll; or
(f)	has been guilty of any misconduct, or negligence, which in the opinion of the Board renders her unfit to remain on the register or the roll; or
(g)	is suffering from ill health which in the opinion of the Board would render her unfit to perform the functions of a registered or enrolled nurse or registered midwife; or
(h)	has ceased practice; or
(i)	is deceased.

(2) Instead of removing the name of a nurse or midwife from the register or the roll under paragraph (f) of subsection (1), the Board may, if it deems fit, caution, censure or suspend the nurse or midwife or impose a combination of any of these penalties.

(3) Where the Board removes the name of a person from the register or the roll, the Registrar may cancel any certificate issued pursuant to subsection (5) of section 7.

(4) A person whose name is ordered to be removed from the register or the roll under subsection (1) shall, within fourteen days of the making of the order, surrender to the Board any certificate issued to her pursuant to subsection (5) of section 7 by the Registrar, and, if she fails to do so, she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.

(5) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that where a person is both a registered or enrolled nurse and a registered midwife, the Board may, if it so desires, proceed to remove the name of that person from the register or roll of nurses and the register of midwives or otherwise caution, censure or suspend that person at the same time without having to institute separate proceedings under this section for that purpose.

Appeal

9.—(1) A person aggrieved by the decision of the Board in removing her name from the register or the roll may, within three months of the date of the decision or within such further period as the High Court allows, appeal to the High Court against such decision.

(2) No appeal shall lie from an order of the High Court made under this section.

Restoration of name to the register or the roll

10. The Board may restore to the register or the roll the name of a person removed therefrom other than the name of a person removed under paragraph (b), (c) or (i) of subsection (1) of section 8 upon such conditions as the Board may decide.

Power of Board to prohibit disqualified midwives from attending, in other capacities, to women in childbirth

11.—(1) Where the Board removes the name of a midwife from the register it may also prohibit her from attending to women in childbirth in any capacity other than that of midwife.

(2) A person aggrieved by a decision of the Board to prohibit her as aforesaid may, within three months of the notification to her of the decision, appeal therefrom to the High Court and the order of the High Court on an appeal under this subsection shall be final.

(3) A person who acts in contravention of a prohibition imposed under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars unless she proves that she acted in a case of emergency.

Effect of registration or enrolment under this Act

12. Registration or enrolment under this Act shall not confer upon any person any right to be registered under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 218), or to assume any name, title or designation implying that she is by law recognised as a medical practitioner, or that she is authorised to grant any medical certificate, or any certificate of death or still-birth, or to undertake the charge of cases of abnormality or disease in connection with parturition.

Expenses incurred

13.—(1) The expenses incurred in carrying out the purposes of this Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

(2) All sums of money received by virtue of this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Penalties for false assumption of title of registered or enrolled nurse, etc.

14.—(1) A person who —

(a)	not being a duly registered nurse, takes or uses the name or title of registered nurse in any language, either alone or in combination with any other words or letters, or any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge, implying that she is registered or is recognised by law as registered; or
(b)	being a person whose name is included in any part or parts of the register of nurses but not in another part, takes or uses any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge, or otherwise does any act of any kind, implying that her name is included in that other part; or
(c)	at any time, with intent to deceive, makes use of any certificate of registration as a nurse issued to her or to any other person,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

(2) A person who —

(a)	not being a duly enrolled nurse, takes or uses the name or title of enrolled nurse in any language, either alone or in combination with any other words or letters, or any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge implying that she is enrolled or is recognised by law as enrolled; or
(b)	being a person whose name is included in any part or parts of the roll of nurses but not in another part, takes or uses any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge, or otherwise does any act of any kind implying that her name is included in that other part; or
(c)	at any time, with intent to deceive, makes use of any certificate of enrolment as a nurse issued to her or to any other person,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

(3) A person who —

(a)	not being a duly registered midwife, takes or uses the name or title of midwife or its equivalent in any language, either alone or in combination with any other words or letters, or any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge implying that she is a registered midwife or that she is a person specially qualified to practise midwifery or is recognised by law as a midwife; or
(b)	being a person whose name is included in any part of the register of midwives, uses any name, title, addition, description, uniform or badge, or otherwise does any act of any kind, implying that her name is included in some other part of the register in which it is not included; or
(c)	at any time, with intent to deceive, makes use of any certificate of registration as a midwife issued to her or to any other person,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

(4) A person who, knowing that some other person is not registered or enrolled, makes any statement or does any act calculated to suggest that that other person is registered or enrolled, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

Falsification of register or roll

15. A person who wilfully makes, or causes to be made, a falsification in a matter relating to the register or the roll or the list published under subsection (2) of section 7 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

Regulations

16. The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and in particular, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for the following matters: —

(a)	to regulate the formation, entries and maintenance of the register or the roll which may respectively consist of such parts as the Board may determine from time to time;
(b)	to regulate the courses of training and the conduct of examinations, and to prescribe the places and times of nursing and midwifery examinations;
(c)	to appoint examiners;
(d)	to regulate the method of application for admission to the register or the roll for persons trained both in and outside Singapore;
(e)	to prescribe the issue and form of certificates;
(f)	to regulate the practice, conduct and discipline of nurses and midwives;
(g)	to prescribe the procedure by which the names of nurses and midwives may be removed from and restored to the register or the roll, cautioned, censured or suspended;
(h)	to define the emergencies in which a midwife shall call in a registered medical practitioner to her assistance;
(i)	to prescribe fees for examinations and for registration in, retention in and restoration of name to the register or the roll and for the issue of certificates; and
(j)	to regulate, supervise and restrict the practice of midwifery and nursing.

Repeal and transitional provisions

17.—(1) The Nurses Registration Act (Cap. 221) and the Midwives Act (Cap. 219) (hereinafter in this section referred to as “the repealed enactments”) are hereby repealed.

(2) Any person whose name was on the day immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act entered on the register maintained under the Nurses Registration Act as a nurse shall be deemed to have been admitted to the register of nurses maintained pursuant to paragraph (a) of section 5.

(3) Any person whose name was on the day immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act entered on the register maintained under the Nurses Registration Act as an assistant nurse shall be deemed to have been admitted to the roll of nurses maintained pursuant to paragraph (b) of section 5.

(4) Any person whose name was on the day immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act entered on the register of midwives maintained under the Midwives Act shall be deemed to have been admitted to the register of midwives maintained pursuant to paragraph (c) of section 5.

(5) Any certificate issued, notice or information given, return made or other thing done under the repealed enactments which, immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act, was of force or effect shall continue in force and have effect as if issued, given, made or done under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

(6) Where, on the date of the commencement of this Act, any proceedings were pending before the Nursing Board or the Midwives Board (hereinafter in this section respectively referred to as “the former authority”), the proceedings shall be taken up and continued under and in conformity with the provisions under this Act and so far as consistently may be; but where, on the date of the commencement of this Act, any matter was in the course of being heard or investigated by the former authority or had been heard or investigated by the former authority but no order or decision had been rendered thereon the former authority shall continue to exist, notwithstanding this Act, for the purpose of completing the hearing or investigation and the making of an order or rendering a decision, as the case may be.

(7) For the purposes of completing a hearing or investigation before it, or making an order or rendering a decision on a matter heard or investigated before the date of the commencement of this Act, the former authority shall complete the hearing or investigation in accordance with the authority vested in it immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act and make such order, rule, or direction as it should have made under the authority vested in it immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Act.

(8) An order, rule or direction made or given by the former authority pursuant to this section shall be entered as an order, rule or direction of the Board and have the same force or effect as if it had been made or given by the Board pursuant to the authority vested in them under this Act.

(9) Where any person being a person registered or enrolled as a nurse, an assistant nurse or a midwife under the repealed enactments has done any act or omitted to do anything in respect of which proceedings may be taken under the repealed enactments for the cancellation of any certificate or registration granted under the repealed enactments, proceedings may be taken under this Act in respect of the said act or omission after the date of the commencement of this Act in the like manner as if the act or omission has been committed or omitted under the corresponding provisions of this Act.