Private Hospitals (registration and Prohibition) Law

PRIVATE HOSPITALS (REGISTRATION AND PROHIBITION) LAW

1. Citation. This Law may be cited as the Private Hospitals (Registration and Prohibition) Law.

2. Interpretation. In this Law unless the context otherwise requires- "appropriate authority" means an authority of Government for the time being charged with responsibility for the Ministry of Health; "company" includes a company duly registered under the provisions of the Companies and. Allied Matters Act, 1990 and a company established outside Nigeria, any other company, association or partnership of any number of persons; "infectious disease" shall have the same meaning as from time to time contained in the Public Health Law; "medical officer" means a medical officer or a medical officer of health in the service of the Government or any medical practitioner authorised in writing by the appropriate authority for all or any of the purposes of this Law to the extent of such authorisation; "medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner duly registered under the provisions of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, 1990; "Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health; "premises" means land, building, tent, vessel and includes any mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads and every description of vehicle propelled by means of mechanism contained within itself; "private hospital" includes any hospital, convalescent home or nursing home, clinic or consulting room, maternity home or hospital, x-ray operation, radiography services, medical laboratory services, physiotherapy services, optical services, nursing or medical nursing agency, optometry, dentistry, dental technology laboratory, and any premises used or intended to be used for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from any sickness, injury, or bodily or mental infirmity whether or not any payment or reward is made or promised by or on behalf of any person so received, but does not include any such hospital, convalescent home, nursing home or premises maintained or controlled by the Government or a local government council; "State" means the Delta State of Nigeria.

3. Registration of private hospitals. No person or company shall institute or conduct a private hospital unless such a hospital has been duly registered by the appropriate authority or the Permanent Secretary in the absence of the appropriate authority under the provisions of this Law.

4. Management of private hospitals. Subject to the provisions of this Law, every private hospital shall be under the management, control and supervision of a medical practitioner (hereinafter referred to as the “medical practitioner in charge”) who shall be responsible for carrying into effect the provisions of this Law in the private hospital concerned.

5. Use of government hospitals by private medical practitioners. Private medical practitioners in private hospitals may from time to time make use of medical facilities in government hospitals for the treatment of their patients subject to the written approval of the appropriate authority or Permanent Secretary in the absence of the appropriate authority, and also subject to payment of a reasonable amount for such use.

6. Medical practitioners in charge. Where more than one medical practitioner is connected with a private hospital, one of such medical practitioners shall be nominated as the medical practitioner in charge.

7. Application for registration. Application for, the registration of a private hospital shall be made to the appropriate authority in the prescribed form and manner.

8. Conditions for registration. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Law, a private hospital shall not be registered unless the appropriate authority is satisfied- (a) that the medical practitioner in charge of, and any other medical practitioner connected with the private hospital or any part thereof is qualified to practice any special branch of medicine there dealt with and is in all other respects a fit and proper person; (b) that the nursing and/or other paramedical staff is adequate and in conformity with the provisions of any regulations made hereunder; (c) that the matron or other person in charge of the nursing or paramedical staff is a qualified nurse and holds a recognised diploma or certificate of training in nursing; (d) that the site, buildings and general amenities are in all respects satisfactory; (e) that the equipment is suitable and sufficient to meet the requirements of such private hospital; (f) that the private hospital contains not less than the minimum or more than the maximum number of beds in conformity with any regulations made hereunder; (g) that the private hospital in all other respects complies with the provisions of any regulations made hereunder. (2) Where the appropriate authority under the provisions of section 9 exempts any private hospitals from or otherwise relaxes or modifies the provisions of this Law in respect of any particular private hospital, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section may be construed accordingly in relation to such private hospital and such exemption, relaxation of modification. (3) Such private hospital shall display inscriptions to the public, indicating that the premises is properly registered.

9. Power to exempt, relax or modify. (1) The appropriate authority may, after consultation with the Medical, and Dental Association and with the Nigerian Medical Council through the State representative, in his absolute discretion, exempt any particular private hospital from any of the provisions of this Law other than the requirement to register, and may in like mariner relax or otherwise modify any of such provisions in respect of any particular private hospital. (2) Any such exemption, relaxation or modification shall be expressed to be for a period not exceeding one year but the appropriate authority may, in like manner, from time to time, renew any such exemption, relaxation or modification for periods not exceeding one year. (3) Any such exemption, relaxation or modification shall be in writing signed by the appropriate authority and shall be displayed with the certificate of registration in the private hospital concerned in a prominent place accessible to all patients or intended patients.

10. Inspection and supervision. (1) The appropriate authority or any person duly authorised by it may at all reasonable times enter a private hospital for the purpose of supervision and inspection and may require to be produced to him all or any of the records, registers and other documents required to be kept under the provisions of this Law, and the medical practitioner in charge shall take such steps as may be necessary to facilitate such supervision and inspection: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to authorise the inspection of any medical record relating to a patient in a private hospital. (2) Where a registered hospital is moved from its former premises to another, the new premises must be inspected and approved before medical service can commence at the new premises.

11. Power to cancel or suspend registration. (1) Where the appropriate authority is satisfied that the provisions of this Law are not being carried into effect in a private hospital or that a private hospital is not being conducted in the best interest of the public or the health or well-being of the patients admitted thereto or that any medical practitioner connected with a private hospital is not or has ceased to be a fit and proper person, he may by order- (a) suspend the registration of such private hospital until the conditions which caused the order of suspension to be issued have been rectified; or (b) cancel the registration of such a private hospital. (2) Where an order of suspension or cancellation of the registration of a private hospital has been made under the provision of subsection (1) of this section such private hospital shall thereupon be closed down with the, aid of the police in recalcitrant cases and no new patients shall be admitted and the remaining in-patients shall, in the discretion of the appropriate authority, be discharged or transferred to another hospital or private hospital or retained in the private hospital which has been closed down until, in the opinion of the appropriate authority, they are fit so to be discharged or transferred and such retention of in-patients shall be deemed not to constitute an offence under section 3 of this Law. (3) A medical practitioner in charge or a company aggrieved by an order of suspension or cancellation made under the provisions of this section may appeal to the High Court but the order of suspension or cancellation shall have immediate effect and shall not be stayed by reason or the lodging of any such appeal. (4) Any order of suspension or cancellation made under the provisions of this section shall be in addition to any proceedings which may be instituted in respect of any contravention or failure to comply with the provisions of this Law and to any penalties which may be imposed on conviction in such proceedings whether or not such conviction is made on the same facts on which the order of suspension or cancellation was made.

12. Liability for offences. Where an offence has been committed against this Law, in respect of the institution or the conduct of a private hospital and such private hospital is owned or controlled by a person on a company, then, in addition to the medical practitioner in charge, such person or such company and every director, manager, secretary or other officer of such company knowingly being a party to such offence shall be guilty of the like offence and liable to the same punishment.

13. General penalty. Any person or company contravening or failing to comply with the provisions of this Law shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty thousand naira or to a term of imprisonment pot exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment, and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine of two hundred naira for each day during which the offence continues.

14. Power to make regulations. The appropriate authority may, with the approval of the Governor make regulations in respect of the institution, conduct, supervision and inspection of the private hospitals and generally for the carrying into effect the purposes of this Law and without prejudice to the generality of the power so conferred, in particular for- (a) prescribing any matter or thing required to be prescribed under the provisions of this Law; (b) prescribing the standards of sanitary arrangements; (c) regulating the accommodation for patient, nursing and other paramedical staff; (d) regulating the accommodation and equipment for operating theatres, laboratories, sterilisation and disinfection, pharmacies and other similar purposes; (e) prescribing the qualifications and training of the nursing and paramedical staff and the number of qualified nurses and paramedical staff to be employed in proportion to the number of beds available; (f) regulating the preparation and storage of food and drugs and, where drugs are dispensed in a private hospital, the number of qualified pharmacists or other essential staff to be employed; (g) regulating the arrangements for disinfection; (h) prescribing the arrangements to be made for the prevention and control of fire and for the safety of patients and staff in the event of fire; (i) prescribing the records and statistics to be kept and the mode of keeping them; (j) prescribing the notification of deaths, births, stillbirths, miscarriages and abortions and also infectious diseases; (k) regulating the admission and discharge of patients; (l) prescribing the hours of work and working conditions for the nursing and other paramedical staff; (m) regulating general medical and domestic arrangements; (n) prescribing the records to be kept when a child born in a private hospital is discharged or removed therefrom; (o) prescribing fees for registration and annual renewal of registration of a private hospital; (p) prescribing penalties up to a maximum of two thousand naira or six months imprisonment or both such fine and imprisonment for offences against any of the regulations made hereunder; (q) prescribing charges for the use of government hospital facilities by private medical practitioners as provided under section 5 of this Law.