It shall be the duty of the Minister, on behalf of the Crown,—

For the purposes of this Act, and subject to the provisions thereof, it shall be the duty of every Board—

Every Board shall have such other functions, duties, and powers as are conferred or imposed on it by this or any other Act.

Nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to authorise or require any Board to establish or maintain any hospital for infectious diseases in any such place or manner as to create a nuisance.

No action for damages shall lie against a Board at the suit of any person in respect of any failure of that Board to conform to the requirements of this section.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, in the exercise of its functions, duties, and powers a Board shall not be deemed for the purposes of any proceedings to be the agent or servant of the Crown or to be an instrument of the Executive Government of New Zealand, or to be entitled in any proceedings to claim any of the privileges of the Crown; and no officer or employee of the Board shall be deemed to be the agent or servant of the Crown.

The Minister may from time to time give to any Board such directions, not inconsistent with this Act or with any regulations made thereunder, as he considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.

Without limiting the generality of the provisions of subsection one of this section, it is hereby declared that where any duty, power, or function is imposed or conferred on any Board by this Act or by any other enactment, the Minister may—

It shall be the duty of the Board to comply with all directions, conditions, and restrictions given or imposed by the Minister pursuant to this Act:

Provided that no action for damages shall lie against a Board at the suit of any person in respect of any failure of that Board to comply with any such direction, condition, or restriction as aforesaid.

Notice of any direction or consent of the Minister under this Act shall be given to the Board in writing signed by the Minister or by the Director-General. Any notice purporting to be signed by the Director-General shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence that the direction or consent to which it relates was given by the Minister.

Subject to the control of the Minister, the Director-General shall be charged with the general administration of this Act.

In the absence from duty of both the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General of Health appointed under the Health Act 1956, from whatever cause arising, or on the occurrence of vacancies in the offices of both the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General of Health, whether by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, and during the continuance of such absence or vacancies, the Director of the Division of Hospitals appointed under that Act shall have and may exercise all the powers, duties, and functions of the Director-General under this Act, including any powers for the time being delegated to the Director-General by the Minister for the purposes of this Act. The fact that the Director of the Division of Hospitals exercises any such power, duty, or function as aforesaid shall be conclusive evidence of his authority to do so, and no person shall be concerned to inquire whether the occasion requiring or authorising him to do so has arisen or has ceased.

There is hereby established for the purposes of this Act a Council to be known as the Hospitals Advisory Council.

The Council shall consist of six persons, being—

Every member of the Council nominated under paragraph (e) of subsection two of this section shall be appointed by the Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, for a term of three years, but may from time to time be reappointed, or may be at any time removed from office by the Governor-General for disability, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by writing addressed to the Minister.

If any appointed member of the Council dies, or is removed from office, or resigns, or ceases to be a member of a Hospital Board, the vacancy so created shall be filled in the manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was originally made. Every person appointed under this subsection shall be appointed for the residue of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.

Unless he sooner vacates his office as provided in this section, every appointed member of the Council shall continue in office until his successor comes into office, notwithstanding that the term for which he was appointed may have expired.

The powers of the Council shall not be affected by any vacancy in the membership thereof.

The principal function of the Council shall be to make recommendations to the Minister on such general matters relating to the provision, control, and management of institutions, hospital accommodation, and services by Hospital Boards as it thinks fit, and on any questions referred to the Council by the Minister relating to the performance of his functions or of the functions of Hospital Boards for the purposes of this Act.

Without limiting the generality of the provisions of subsection one of this section, the Council may from time to time make recommendations to the Minister on any matters relating to—

The Council shall have such other functions as are imposed on it by this Act or by any other enactment.

The Council may from time to time appoint committees consisting of two or more persons, whether members of the Council or not, to inquire into and report to the Council on such matters within the scope of its functions as are referred to them by the Council.

Every such committee shall be subject in all things to the control of the Council, and may at any time be discharged, altered, or reconstituted by the Council.

The Council is hereby declared to be a statutory Board within the meaning of the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951.

There shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose to the members of the Council or of any committee appointed by the Council remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances and travelling allowances and expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

Meetings of the Council shall be held at such times and places as the Council or the Chairman may appoint from time to time.

It shall be the duty of the Chairman forthwith to cause a special meeting of the Council to be called when requested to do so by a requisition in writing signed by any three members of the Council, specifying the business to be brought before the meeting.

At every meeting of the Council three members, including the Chairman and at least one of the members referred to in paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection two of section seven of this Act, shall form a quorum.

At any meeting the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting vote.

At any meeting the decision of a majority of the members present shall be the decision of the Council:

Provided that—

In the absence from any meeting of any of the members of the Council referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection two of section seven of this Act, that member may authorise any officer of his Department to attend the meeting in his stead.

For the purposes of meetings of the Council, the Executive Committee of the Hospital Boards’ Association of New Zealand Incorporated may from time to time nominate three persons, being members of Hospital Boards, as deputies of the members of the Council referred to in paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection two of the said section seven. One of those persons shall be nominated as the deputy of the member who is President of the Association, one shall be nominated as the deputy of the member representing Boards in the North Island, and the other shall be nominated as the deputy of the member representing Boards in the South Island. Every such deputy may attend any meeting of the Council in the absence from that meeting of the member whose deputy he is. He shall continue to be the deputy of that member during the term for which that member was appointed, but may from time to time be renominated, or may at any time resign his office as deputy by writing addressed to the Chairman of the Association, and shall in any case vacate his office as deputy if he ceases to be a member of a Hospital Board. If any such deputy dies or resigns, or if he ceases to be a member of a Hospital Board, another deputy may be so nominated in his place for the residue of such term as aforesaid.

While any person is attending any meeting of the Council pursuant to subsection six or subsection seven of this section, he shall be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Council; and if he is attending in the stead of the Director-General he shall be deemed for the purposes of the meeting and of this section to be the Chairman. The fact that any person so attends shall be sufficient evidence of his authority to do so.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder, the Council may regulate its procedure and the procedure of its committees in such manner as it thinks fit.

There is hereby established an advisory committee to be known as the Hospital Works Committee.

The Hospital Works Committee shall consist of the Director-General of Health, the Secretary to the Treasury, and the Commissioner of Works.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations made under this Act, it shall be the duty of the Hospital Works Committee—

In the absence of any member from any meeting of the Committee, he may authorise any officer of his Department to attend the meeting in his stead. While so attending, every officer so authorised shall be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Committee.

The Director-General, or, during his absence from any meeting, the officer of the Department of Health attending the meeting in his stead, shall be the Chairman of the Committee.

Subject to the provisions of this section and of any regulations made under this Act, the Committee may regulate its own procedure.

For the purpose of assisting in the administration of this Act the Minister may from time to time appoint such advisory or technical committees as he thinks fit.

Every such committee shall have such functions in relation to this Act as the Minister may from time to time determine.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section, the Minister may from time to time appoint any person or persons to be a committee to inquire into and report to the Minister on any matter relating to the management of any institution or of any activity carried on in connection therewith, or any matter relating to any complaint or dispute that may arise under this Act, or any matter arising out of the administration of this Act (not being a matter relating to the union, reconstitution, or alteration of boundaries of any hospital districts). Any such committee may, if the Minister thinks fit, consist of or include a member or members of the Hospitals Advisory Council. For the purpose of enabling it to conduct the inquiry, every committee appointed under this subsection shall, if the Minister so directs, have the powers of a Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, and the provisions of that Act, except sections eleven and twelve (which relate to costs), shall apply as if the inquiry were an inquiry under that Act:

Provided that the Chairman of any such Commission may exercise all the powers of the Commission in respect of citing parties and summoning witnesses, and may do any other act preliminary or incidental to the hearing or consideration of any matter by the Commission.

There may be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose to the members of any committee appointed under this section remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances and travelling allowances and expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly as if the committee were a statutory Board within the meaning of that Act.

Subject to the provisions of this section and of any regulations made under this Act, every such committee may regulate its own procedure.

The hospital districts named in the first column of the First Schedule to this Act are hereby constituted hospital districts for the purposes of this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, each of those hospital districts shall comprise the counties and other districts specified in the second column of the said First Schedule opposite the name of the hospital district.

If at any time there is constituted a new county whose limits are wholly within one hospital district, the new county shall be deemed to be included in and to form part of that hospital district.

If at any time there is constituted a new county whose limits extend into two or more hospital districts, the new county shall be deemed to be included in and to form part of such one of those hospital districts as may be declared in that behalf by the Governor-General by Order in Council. Any Order in Council under this subsection may be made retrospective so as to have effect as from the date of the constitution of the new county or from such later date as the Governor-General thinks fit. Any such Order in Council may at any time be revoked and another substituted therefor.

Every hospital district shall include every city, borough, and town district surrounded by any county included in the hospital district.

Every hospital district shall include every city, borough, and town district contiguous to any county included in the hospital district. For the purposes of this subsection every city, borough, or town district that is not contiguous to a county shall be deemed to be contiguous thereto if it is contiguous to any other city, borough, or town district which is itself contiguous to that county.

If at any time there is any county, city, borough, or town district to which none of the foregoing provisions applies so as to include it in any hospital district the Governor-General may, by Order in Council, declare that county, city, borough, or town district to be included in such hospital district as he thinks fit, and it shall be included in that hospital district accordingly.

Any Order in Council under this section may be made retrospective to such extent as may be necessary to secure the inclusion of the county, city, borough, or town district at all times in a hospital district.

Any Order in Council under this section may at any time be revoked and another substituted therefor.

If at any time it appears to the Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Hospitals Advisory Council made to the Minister, to be expedient that any two or more hospital districts which constitute a single continuous area should be united or reconstituted to form the same or a smaller number of districts, the Governor-General may by Order in Council abolish those hospital districts as from a date to be specified in the Order, and constitute as from the same date the same or a smaller number of new hospital districts, or one new hospital district, as he thinks fit, under a name or names to be specified in the Order, and comprising the whole of the area included in the hospital districts so abolished. Where two or more hospital districts are so constituted each of them shall comprise such counties and other areas (if any) as are specified in the Order in Council.

The Boards of any two or more such hospital districts as aforesaid may by resolutions request the union or reconstitution of their districts pursuant to this section. No such resolution shall be passed by a Board at any meeting unless notice of the intention to propose that resolution has been given at a previous meeting of the Board held not less than fourteen days before the day of the meeting at which the resolution is proposed to be passed. A copy of every such resolution signed by the Chairman of the Board shall be sent to the Minister, and shall be conclusive evidence that the resolution was duly passed in accordance with this subsection. On receipt of the copy, the terms of every such resolution shall be referred to the Hospitals Advisory Council for its consideration under this section.

All the provisions of this Act relating to hospital districts constituted by this Act shall apply, so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, to a hospital district constituted by an Order in Council under this section.

The Board of any hospital district constituted under section seventeen of this Act shall come into existence as a body corporate on the day on which the district comes into existence, and the Boards of the districts abolished by the Order shall thereupon be deemed to be dissolved.

In any case where one new hospital district is so constituted, the Board of the new district shall be deemed to be the successor of the Boards of the abolished hospital districts.

In any case where two or more new hospital districts are so constituted the Boards of such of those districts as are specified in that behalf in the Order in Council shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be deemed to be the successors of the Boards of any hospital districts abolished by the Order.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, every Hospital Board created a body corporate under this section shall be deemed for all purposes to be the same corporation as any Board of which it is declared by or under this section to be the successor.

By the Order in Council by which any hospital district is so constituted, or by any subsequent Order in Council, the Governor-General may exercise in respect of that district and the Board thereof all the powers vested in him by this Act with respect to the representation of constituent districts and the constitution and election of Boards in the same manner, with all necessary modifications, as if that hospital district and the Board thereof had been constituted by this Act.

The first election of the members of the Board of any hospital district so constituted shall be held on a day to be fixed by the Order in Council or by the Minister by notice in the Gazette; and the Minister may in any case do all things necessary to enable that election to be held. The day so fixed may be any day before or after the date on which the new hospital district comes into existence; but any person so elected before the date of the constitution of the new district shall come into office on that date, and not sooner.

Where pursuant to subsection six of this section the first election of the members of the Board is to take place at any time after the constitution of the hospital district, the Governor-General may appoint such number of qualified persons, not being fewer than eight or more than fourteen, as he thinks fit to be members of the Board of the district, to hold office until the coming into office of members of the Board pursuant to that election. The Governor-General may from time to time in like manner fill any vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or incapacity of any member appointed by him under this subsection.

All the provisions of this Act shall apply, so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, with respect to every Board constituted under this section.

In any case where two or more hospital districts are abolished and one new district is constituted by Order in Council as aforesaid, the following provisions shall apply:

In any case where, by any such Order in Council, two or more new hospital districts are constituted, the following provisions shall apply:

Where by virtue of this section any land becomes vested in a Hospital Board without conveyance or assignment, and a Board of any district abolished as aforesaid is registered as the proprietor of that land under the Land Transfer Act 1952, the District Land Registrar shall, at the request of the Hospital Board, and on being satisfied, by statutory declaration or otherwise, of the title of the Hospital Board, register the Hospital Board as the proprietor of that land instead of the Board of the district so abolished.

Every Hospital Board that is the successor of the Board of any district that has been abolished as aforesaid shall have and may exercise all the rights, powers, and authorities that the Board of which it is the successor could have exercised.

Every Hospital Board to which any property of any Board is apportioned, or to which any contracts, debts, or liabilities of any Board are apportioned, under the foregoing provisions of this Act shall have and may exercise such of the rights, powers, and authorities that the last-mentioned Board could have exercised as may be specified in that behalf by the Minister.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council, on the recommendation of the Hospitals Advisory Council made to the Minister, alter, as from a date to be specified in the Order, the boundaries of any two or more contiguous hospital districts by excluding any county from any such district and including that county in another hospital district to which it is contiguous.

Where the boundaries of any hospital district are altered under this section, the Governor-General may by Order in Council alter the name of any hospital district affected by the alteration; and thereupon the name of the Board of that district shall be deemed to have been altered accordingly. The alteration in the name of the Board shall not affect in any way the corporate entity or capacity of the Board.

If at any time the boundaries of any county, city, borough, or town district comprised in any hospital district are altered, the alteration shall have effect with respect to the hospital district, and the boundaries of the hospital district shall be deemed to be altered accordingly.

Where by reason of any alteration of the boundaries of a hospital district or by reason of any Order in Council under this Act any institution which is vested in one Board becomes situated in the district of another Board, the Governor-General may by Order in Council, if he thinks fit, whether on the application of the Board of either of those districts or otherwise, vest the institution in the Board of the district in which it has so become situated.

When any such Order in Council is made, the following provisions shall apply as from the date of the Order in Council or as from such later date as is specified in the Order in Council as the date of the coming into force thereof:

Where by virtue of this section any land becomes vested in the new Board without conveyance or assignment, and the former Board is registered as the proprietor of that land under the Land Transfer Act 1952, the District Land Registrar shall, at the request of the new Board, and on being satisfied, by statutory declaration or otherwise, of the title of the new Board, register the new Board as the proprietor of that land instead of the former Board.

Without limiting the functions of the Hospitals Advisory Council under this Act, if at any time the Minister is of opinion that for the purposes of this Act a special inquiry should be made into any question relating to the union, reconstitution, or alteration of boundaries of any hospital districts, he may request the Minister of Internal Affairs to refer the question to the Local Government Commission for inquiry and report under the Local Government Commission Act 1953.

Where any hospital district, or any constituent district within any hospital district, is created, abolished, merged, or otherwise altered, or its name is altered, the Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council amend the First Schedule to this Act by omitting, inserting, or altering the name or description of any such district, as the case may require, or make such other amendments to that Schedule as may be necessary for the purpose of properly describing every hospital district affected by the alteration.

For every hospital district there shall be a Hospital Board constituted in the manner hereinafter provided.

Every Board shall be a body corporate by the name of “The [Naming the hospital district, but omitting the words ‘hospital district’] Hospital Board”, and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall be capable of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property, of suing and being sued, and of doing and suffering all that bodies corporate may lawfully do and suffer.

Every Hospital Board existing at the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been constituted under this Act and to be the same body corporate as theretofore.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, every Hospital Board shall consist of one or more representatives of each of the constituent districts within the hospital district.

The number of representatives of each constituent district shall be such as is determined from time to time in each case by the Governor-General by Order in Council, having regard, in such manner as he thinks fit, to the relative populations of those districts and to such other considerations as he thinks necessary for ensuring the proper representation of all areas in the hospital district.

For the purpose of providing representation on the Marlborough Hospital Board of the Sounds County (being a county in which the Counties Act 1956 is not in force) and the Kenepuru and Croissilles - French Pass Road Districts, the Governor-General may from time to time if he thinks fit, having regard to the populations of that county and those road districts, appoint to that Board a representative or representatives of that county and those road districts, to hold office for such term as he thinks fit. Any person may be so appointed and hold office as a member of the Board notwithstanding that he is not an elector, or does not possess a qualification as an elector, of a constituent district within the Board’s district. In the event of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of a member appointed under this subsection, the Governor-General may appoint a representative to fill the vacancy, and the person so appointed shall hold office as a member for the unexpired portion of the term of office of his predecessor. Every member appointed under this subsection shall continue in office until his successor is appointed, notwithstanding that the term for which he holds office has expired.

The total number of the members of any Board shall not in any case be less than eight or more than fourteen.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection four of this section, where at the commencement of this Act the total number of members of any Board exceeds fourteen, the following provisions shall apply:

Where by reason of the number of constituent districts in any hospital district, or by reason of the smallness of the population of any such constituent district, it is, in the opinion of the Governor-General in Council, impracticable or inexpedient to give full effect to the intent of section twenty-six of this Act, the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, combine into one or more combined districts any number of the constituent districts (whether of the same or of different kinds) in the hospital district for the purpose of the election of representatives on the Board of the hospital district.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council prescribe the number of members to be elected in common as the representative or representatives of any combined district, having regard, in such manner as he thinks fit, to the relative populations of that district and of every other combined district or separate constituent district within the hospital district, and to such other considerations as he thinks necessary for ensuring the proper representation of all areas in the hospital district.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council select and appoint one of the local authorities of the combined district to be the principal local authority of that combined district for the purposes of the conduct of elections within that district.

The creation, abolition, merger, union, division, or other alteration of any constituent district within a hospital district shall not in itself have any operation so as to affect the then existing membership of the Hospital Board of that district.

The Governor-General may from time to time, whenever in his opinion it becomes necessary or expedient to do so by reason of the creation, abolition, merger, union, division, or alteration of any constituent district, or by reason of the alteration of the boundaries of any hospital district, or by reason of any other circumstances, revoke or amend any provisions made by him with respect to the representation of the constituent districts in a hospital district or with respect to the creation or representation of any combined district in a hospital district; and may by Order in Council make with respect to any of those matters any other provisions which he thinks fit and which are not inconsistent with this Act.

If by any such Order in Council representation is given to any constituent district or combined district which is not already represented on the Board, or increased representation is given to any constituent district or combined district which is already represented on the Board, the Governor-General may, by the same or any other Order in Council, fix the date of the first election of the representatives or additional representatives, as the case may be, of that district and make all other provisions which are deemed necessary for that election.

If by any Order in Council under this section representation on a Board is taken away from any constituent district or combined district, the representatives of that district shall retire from office on the day appointed in that behalf by the Order in Council.

If by any Order in Council under this section a reduction is made in the number of representatives to which any constituent district or combined district is entitled, a sufficient number of those representatives shall retire from office on the day appointed in that behalf by the Order in Council so that the representation of that district may conform to the Order in Council. The representatives so to retire from office shall, in default of agreement among all the representatives of the constituent district or combined district, be determined by lot in such manner as the Board directs.

The representatives on a Hospital Board of any constituent district shall be elected by the electors of the local authority of that district.

Every such elector shall have one vote only.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations made under this Act, every such election shall be held in the same manner, with all necessary modifications, as the elections of members of the local authority of the constituent district; and all the provisions of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1953, and of all other Acts affecting the mode of election of members of that local authority (including the penal provisions thereof and the provisions relating to disputed elections), shall apply to the election, so far as they are applicable and are consistent with this Act.

In the application of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1953 as aforesaid every reference in Part II and in section eighty-nine thereof to the local authority shall be construed as a reference to the local authority of the constituent district.

Subject as aforesaid, the Returning Officer of the local authority of the constituent district shall be the Returning Officer for the purposes of elections of representatives of that constituent district under this Act.

The representatives on a Hospital Board of a combined district shall be elected by the electors of each of the local authorities whose districts are included in the combined district.

Every such elector shall have one vote only, notwithstanding that he may be an elector of more than one of the local authorities of that district.

Every such election shall be held in manner provided by regulations made under this Act, either generally or in respect of any specified combined district or districts.

By any such regulations the Governor-General in Council may apply to any such election, with such modifications, exceptions, and additions as he thinks fit, the provisions of the Local Elections and Polls Act 1953, and of any other Act affecting the election of members of any such local authority.

The cost of every election of a representative or representatives on a Hospital Board of any constituent district or combined district, except in every case the expenses of scrutineers and other expenses incurred by or on behalf of candidates, shall be borne and paid—

If on the day appointed for any election of representatives of any constituent district or combined district no persons are duly elected, or the number of persons elected is less than the required number, the Governor-General may appoint as many qualified persons to be the representatives of that district as are required; and the persons so appointed shall hold office in all respects as if they had been duly elected in conformity with this Act.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the following persons shall be incapable of being elected or appointed to be members of a Board:

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the office of a member of a Board shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy, if the member—

If any person does any act as a member of a Board after his office has become vacant under subsection one of this section, except under paragraph (b) thereof, he commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

It shall be the duty of the Audit Office to institute proceedings for any offence against this section, but nothing herein shall be so construed as to prevent the taking of any such proceedings by any other person.

Any member of a Board may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Secretary or the Chairman of the Board; and in that case, or in case of his death, incapacity, or ouster from office, or his absence without leave from four consecutive meetings of the Board, his office shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be deemed to be an extraordinary vacancy.

In the event of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of a representative of any constituent district on the Board, the local authority of that district shall forthwith appoint some qualified person in his place as a representative of that district.

In the event of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of a representative of a combined district on the Board, the several local authorities of that combined district shall forthwith, by agreement among themselves, jointly appoint some qualified person in his place as a representative of that district.

If no such appointment is made within two months after the happening of the vacancy, the Governor-General may make the required appointment.

The member so appointed shall hold office only for the unexpired portion of the term of office of his predecessor.

Upon proof in the first instance by affidavit or otherwise that any member of a Board is or has become incapable under this Act or any other Act of holding his office, any Magistrate’s Court in the hospital district may grant a summons calling upon the person holding that office to show cause why he should not be adjudged to be ousted of his office.

If on the return of the summons it appears to the Court, on affidavit or oral evidence on oath, that the person is incapable under this Act or any other Act of holding his office, the Court may adjudge him to be ousted of that office, and he shall be ousted of that office accordingly.

In any proceedings under this section the Magistrate’s Court may exercise all the powers and authorities that it may exercise in its ordinary jurisdiction in civil cases; and the procedure of the Court, so far as it is applicable, shall apply generally to proceedings under this section.

No matter in relation to a disputed election shall be heard by a Magistrate’s Court under this section.

No question that may be tried under this section shall be tried in the Supreme Court; and no proceedings in a Magistrate’s Court under this section shall be removable into the Supreme Court by certiorari or otherwise.

At the first meeting of any Board after the first election or appointment of members, and within thirty days after the day on which any subsequent general election of members is held, or so soon thereafter as may be practicable, the Board shall elect one of its members to be the Chairman of the Board.

During the election of a Chairman at any meeting the Secretary, or some other person appointed for the purpose by the Board, shall preside, and in the event of an equality of votes shall determine the election by lot in such manner as the Board directs.

If the Chairman of any Board resigns his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Secretary, or ceases to be a member of the Board, his office as Chairman thereof shall become vacant, and the Board shall, as soon as may be practicable, elect one of its members to be the Chairman thereof.

Every person elected as Chairman of the Board shall hold office until the election of his successor, unless his office sooner becomes vacant.

Any Board may, if it thinks fit, pay to the Chairman of the Board by way of remuneration for his services a sum not exceeding in any year the following:

At every meeting of a Board the Chairman, if present, shall preside.

If the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman are absent from any meeting, or if there is for the time being no Chairman or Deputy Chairman, the members present shall choose one of their number to act as Chairman at that meeting, and the member so chosen shall have the same powers at that meeting as if he were the Chairman of the Board.

Any Board may from time to time appoint from among its members a Deputy Chairman, who shall act as Chairman of the Board during the temporary absence or incapacity of the Chairman.

While so acting the Deputy Chairman may do all acts that the Chairman as such might do.

The fact that the Deputy Chairman exercises any power, duty, or function of the Chairman shall be sufficient evidence of his authority so to do; and no person shall be concerned to inquire whether any occasion has arisen requiring or authorising him so to do, or be affected by notice that no such occasion has arisen.

Meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as the Board from time to time appoints:

Provided that the first meeting of the Board of a newly constituted district shall be held at a time and place to be fixed by the Minister.

The Chairman of the Board may at any time call a special meeting of the Board.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary or the Chairman of the Board to call a special meeting of the Board at any time when requested to do so by a requisition in writing under the hands of any five members of the Board.

The Director-General, or the Director of the Division of Hospitals under the Health Act 1956, may at any time call a special meeting of any Board, or may require the Chairman or Secretary of any such Board to call such a meeting thereof, and it shall be the duty of the Chairman or Secretary to call a meeting accordingly.

The Director-General, or the Director or any Assistant Director of the Division of Hospitals, or any other officer of the Department of Health authorised in that behalf by the Director-General, shall be entitled to be present at any meeting of a Board or of any committee of a Board, and to speak at the meeting, but shall not take any other part in the proceedings thereof.

Every question before the Board shall be decided by the votes of a majority of the members present at a meeting of the Board.

The Chairman shall have a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

No business shall be transacted at any meeting unless at least a quorum of members is present during the whole time while the business is transacted.

A quorum shall consist of half the total number of the members of the Board (irrespective of any extraordinary vacancies) when that number is even, and a majority of such members when the number is odd.

Any Board may from time to time appoint standing or special committees, consisting of two or more persons, for the management of any institution under the control of the Board, or for the regulation and management of, or for inquiring into and reporting upon, such matters as the Board thinks fit; and may from time to time, either generally or particularly, delegate to any such committee any of the powers and duties conferred or imposed on the Board by this Act, except the power to borrow money, to make a bylaw, to enter into a contract, or to institute an action.

Any such committee may include persons who are not members of the Board:

Provided that no such person shall be qualified to become or to continue to be a member of any such committee who would be disqualified by virtue of this Act from becoming or continuing to be a member of the Board.

The Board may at any time discharge, alter, continue, or reconstitute any committee, or discharge any member thereof and, if it thinks fit, appoint another member in his place. Every committee shall, unless sooner discharged by the Board, be deemed to be discharged on the coming into office of the members of the Board at the general election next after the appointment of the committee.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, every committee to which any powers or duties are delegated under this section may, without confirmation by the Board, exercise those powers or perform those duties in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been directly conferred on the committee by this Act and not by delegation.

Every committee appointed under this section shall be subject in all things to the control of the Board, and shall carry out all directions, general or special, given by the Board in relation to the committee or its affairs.

In respect of the institutions referred to in the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to this Act, this section shall be read subject to the provisions of those Schedules.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to any committee of management established under section fifty-eight of this Act.

Any contract which if made between private persons must be by deed shall, if made by the Board, be in writing under the seal of the Board.

Any contract which if made between private persons must be in writing signed by the parties to be charged therewith shall, if made by the Board, be either in writing under the seal of the Board or in writing signed on behalf of the Board by some person duly authorised in that behalf.

Any contract which if made between private persons may be made orally may be similarly made on behalf of the Board by some person duly authorised in that behalf, but no oral contract shall be made involving the payment by the Board of a sum exceeding fifty pounds.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, no contract made by or on behalf of the Board shall be invalid by reason only that it was not made in manner provided by this section, if it was made pursuant to a resolution of the Board or to give effect to a resolution of the Board.

Subject to any general or special directions of the Minister, any contract for the execution or provision of any work or service for any Board, or for the supply to the Board of any fuel, goods, stores, or equipment required for the purposes of this Act, may be made by the Board in respect of any period, notwithstanding that the period extends beyond the limits of any financial year or years of the Board:

Provided that no such contract shall be made in respect of any period of more than three years without the prior consent of the Minister.

The common seal of a Board shall not be affixed to any document except pursuant to a resolution of the Board, and the execution of any documents so sealed shall be attested by two members of the Board.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations made thereunder, a Board may regulate its procedure and the procedure of any committee of the Board in such manner as it thinks fit.

No act or proceeding of any Board, or of any committee, or of any person acting as a member of the Board, shall be invalidated in consequence of there being a vacancy in the membership of the Board at the time of the act or proceeding, or of the subsequent discovery that there was some defect with regard to the election or appointment of any member of the Board or of any person so acting or that he was or had become disqualified.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any Board may from time to time appoint a Secretary, a Treasurer, and such medical and other officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance by the Board of its functions, powers, and duties:

Provided that the office of Treasurer may be held concurrently with that of Secretary.

With the prior consent of the Minister, and subject to the provisions of this Act,—

Without limiting the general powers of the Minister, under section five of this Act, to give any directions for the purposes of this section, it is hereby declared that the Minister may from time to time, under that section, direct any Board—

Any direction given for any of the purposes of subsection three of this section may relate to persons appointed or employed in a whole-time capacity or to persons appointed or employed in a part-time or an honorary capacity.

This section shall apply to the appointment by any Board of any medical officer, or of any matron, or of any master, manager, or engineer of any hospital or institution under this Act, or of the Secretary or Chief Engineer to a Board, or of any person to any office or employment of any class for the time being prescribed for the purposes of this section.

Except with the prior approval of the Minister, the Board shall not make any appointment to which this section applies without first inviting applications therefor in the prescribed manner.

On receiving the applications, the Board shall send to the Minister a list of the applicants together with such particulars concerning them as he may require. As soon as practicable after receiving the list, the Minister shall submit to the Board for its guidance such reports and recommendations as he thinks fit, and shall indicate the names of the applicants whose appointment he would be prepared to approve.

After giving due and fair consideration to the reports and recommendations submitted by the Minister, the Board—

In any case to which paragraph (b) of subsection four of this section applies, the Minister, if he thinks fit, may notify the Board of his intention to refer the proposed appointment to the Hospitals Advisory Council for its recommendation, and shall thereupon refer it accordingly. Where the Board is so notified, it shall not make the proposed appointment if, acting on the recommendation of the Council, the Minister declines to approve that appointment.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any rule of law, but subject to the provisions of this Act, any Board may enter into an agreement in writing with any person whom it proposes to appoint, or who has been appointed, as an officer or employee of the Board to the effect that that person shall not be removed from his office or employment, except as provided in the agreement or except for conduct justifying summary dismissal—

Subject to any direction given by the Minister under this Act, any agreement made under paragraph (b) of subsection one of this section with any part-time officer or employee may from time to time be renewed for any period not exceeding three years at any one time from the date of that renewal.

Without limiting the general power to make regulations conferred by section one hundred and fifty-two of this Act, regulations may from time to time be made under that section for all or any of the following purposes:

Any regulations made under paragraph (a) of subsection one of this section increasing the scales and rates of any salaries, wages, other emoluments, or increments may be made so as to come into force on any date specified in the regulations, whether that date is before or after the date of the making of the regulations.

Where any person employed by a Board in any office or employment not subject to any award, industrial agreement, or apprenticeship order has ceased to be employed by the Board, and the rate of the remuneration for that office or employment has been lawfully increased after he ceased to be so employed, and the increase applies retrospectively to a period commencing before he ceased to be so employed, the Board may, on application by the former officer or employee, pay to him remuneration at the increased rate for any part of that period during which he was so employed.

There shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose to the members of any committee or advisory body appointed by the Minister pursuant to this section remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances and travelling allowances and expenses in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly as if the committee or body were a statutory Board within the meaning of that Act.

The separate institutions named or described in the Second Schedule to this Act, and the corporations thereof, shall continue to exist, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act.

The name of the corporation of any separate institution shall be the name by which the institution is referred to in the said Second Schedule, or such other name as may be adopted pursuant to section one hundred and fifteen of this Act, and by that name the corporation shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to hold land, to sue and be sued, and to do and suffer all that bodies corporate may do and suffer.

The corporation of any separate institution shall consist of the contributors to that institution.

The contributors to any separate institution are, during any financial year,—

No person shall be entitled to vote as a contributor at any meeting of contributors unless he has attained the age of eighteen years and has been a contributor for a period of not less than three months next before the day of the meeting.

The Trustees of any separate institution may elect as a life contributor to the institution any person who gives to the funds of the institution a donation in one sum of not less than twenty pounds.

Every separate institution shall be governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of nine persons, who shall be elected by the contributors to the institution.

The Trustees of a separate institution who are in office at the commencement of this Act, unless their offices sooner become vacant under this Act, shall continue in office and may exercise the powers vested in Trustees by this Act until their successors come into office in accordance with this Act.

All Trustees of a separate institution elected under this Act shall come into office on their election, and shall continue in office until the election of their successors, unless they sooner vacate their offices in accordance with this Act.

An annual meeting of the contributors to any separate institution shall be held on the first Tuesday in April in each year, at a time and place to be determined by the Trustees and notified by advertisement in some newspaper circulating in the district where the institution is situated.

At every such annual meeting or at any adjourned annual meeting every Trustee who has been appointed under section one hundred and eight of this Act to fill a casual vacancy shall retire, and some person shall be elected as a Trustee in his place; but the Trustee so retiring shall be capable of being so elected. At the same time every existing vacancy in the Board of Trustees shall be filled by the election of a Trustee.

At every such annual meeting or at any adjourned annual meeting, if the number of Trustees to be elected under subsection two of this section is less than three, a sufficient number of Trustees to create three vacancies in the Board of Trustees shall go out of office, and their places shall be filled by election; but the Trustees so retiring may be re-elected.

The Trustees so to go out of office shall be those who have been the longest in office without re-election. Where two or more have been in office for the same length of time, those of them who are to go out of office shall be determined by lot in such manner as the Trustees determine.

At every annual meeting of contributors or at any adjourned annual meeting the contributors present and entitled to vote shall, after electing Trustees as aforesaid, elect one of the Trustees to be Chairman of the institution, and the person so elected shall, unless he sooner vacates his office, hold office until the election of his successor.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Trustees or of the contributors at which he is present.

If the Chairman is absent from any meeting, or if there is no Chairman, the contributors present and entitled to vote, in the case of a meeting of contributors, or the Trustees present in the case of a meeting of Trustees, shall elect some contributor or Trustee, as the case may require, to preside at that meeting; and the person so elected shall have the same powers at that meeting as the Chairman would have had if he had been present.

At every meeting, whether of Trustees or of contributors, the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting vote.

If the Chairman resigns or forfeits his office, or dies, the remaining Trustees shall appoint one of their number to be Chairman until the election of a Chairman at the next annual meeting or adjourned annual meeting of contributors.

A general meeting of contributors may, by a resolution of the Trustees, be called at any time by notice to the contributors given by advertisement in some newspaper circulating in the district in which the institution is situated.

If at any annual or general meeting of contributors at least ten of the contributors qualified to vote do not assemble and proceed to business within one hour after the time fixed for the meeting, no retirement or election of Trustees shall take place, nor shall any business be done at that time. In any such case the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same place and the same hour of the same day in the following week, and notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given by the Trustees in some newspaper circulating in the district where the institution is situated.

At the adjourned meeting four contributors entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum.

Every question submitted to any meeting of contributors shall be decided by a majority of the votes of contributors then present and entitled to vote.

Every such contributor shall have one vote.

If any Trustee dies, or resigns or forfeits his office, the continuing Trustees, if three or more in number, shall fill the vacancy so created in the Board by appointing as Trustee some contributor to the institution.

If there are less than three continuing Trustees, or if they fail to make any such appointment within two months after the happening of the vacancy, the Governor-General may appoint a contributor to the vacant office.

Every Trustee appointed under this section shall hold office until the election of his successor at the next annual meeting or adjourned annual meeting of the contributors.

Meetings of the Trustees of a separate institution shall be held at such times and places as the Trustees from time to time determine.

The Chairman of the institution or any five of the Trustees may at any time call a special meeting of the Trustees.

It shall be the duty of the Chairman or of the Secretary to call a special meeting of the Trustees at any time when requested to do so by a requisition in writing under the hands of any five Trustees.

The Trustees may from time to time appoint and remove a Secretary, a Treasurer, and such medical and other officers and employees as the Trustees think necessary to assist in the management of the separate institution and in the execution of this Part of this Act.

The office of Treasurer may be held concurrently with that of Secretary.

All persons appointed under this section may be paid out of the revenue of the separate institution such salary, wages, or other remuneration as the Trustees think fit.

The Trustees may appoint such persons as they think fit for the purpose of collecting voluntary contributions and donations from the public for any purpose in connection with the separate institution or for the general purposes thereof.

All money so collected by the Trustees shall be applied for the purposes for which it was collected, and for no other purpose.

The corporation of any separate institution shall have the same power to borrow money as a Hospital Board has under subsections one and three of section eighty-seven of this Act, and the provisions of those subsections and of subsection two of that section shall apply accordingly:

Provided that the amount of any bank overdraft shall not at any time in any financial year exceed one-fourth of the total amount of all money received by the Trustees during the preceding financial year and available, when received, for the maintenance of the institution, exclusive of any money borrowed under this section.

The provisions of Part III of this Act specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply to every separate institution and to the corporation and Trustees thereof; and in the application of those provisions all references therein to an institution shall be read as references to a separate institution, and all references to a Hospital Board or to its members shall be read as references to the corporation or Trustees of the separate institution, as the case may require.

In the application to a separate institution of section ninety-one of this Act, the reference in that section to the Minister of Finance shall be deemed to be a reference to the Trustees of the separate institution.

The Trustees of a separate institution shall at all times keep a book, to be called the Contributors Book, in which shall be entered the names and addresses of all contributors and the amounts from time to time contributed by each, together with the dates of those contributions.

The Contributors Book shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection of any contributor, and all entries therein shall be sufficient evidence of the matters so recorded, in the absence of proof to the contrary.

The Trustees of a separate institution may from time to time make, under the seal of the corporation of the separate institution, bylaws for any of the following purposes and matters in addition to the purposes and matters mentioned in section sixty-five of this Act:

All the provisions of section sixty-five of this Act shall apply to bylaws made under this section.

The Trustees of a separate institution may at any time, by resolution approved by a general meeting of the contributors, decide to transfer the institution to the Hospital Board of the hospital district within which the institution is situated.

The Governor-General may thereupon, if he thinks fit, declare by Order in Council that the institution is transferred to that Board accordingly.

On the making of any such Order in Council the institution shall cease, as from the day specified in that behalf in the Order, to be a separate institution under this Act, and shall as from that day become vested in and under the control of the Hospital Board so named in the Order, and be subject in all respects to the provisions of Part III of this Act; and as from that day the corporation of the separate institution shall be dissolved and the said Board shall be deemed to be its successor under this Act.

The provisions of subsections one and three of section nineteen of this Act shall apply, with all necessary modifications, to a separate institution transferred to a Hospital Board under this section.

The corporation of any separate institution may apply for and obtain registration as an incorporated society in accordance with the Incorporated Societies Act 1908.

Where the corporation exists exclusively or principally for charitable purposes, it may either apply for and obtain registration as an incorporated society as aforesaid or apply for and obtain registration as a Board in accordance with Part II of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply notwithstanding that the corporation is already a body corporate under this Act.

On the issue to the corporation of a certificate of incorporation under either of the said Acts the following provisions shall apply:

In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

No premises shall be used as a private hospital except under the authority and in accordance with the terms of a licence issued by the Minister under this Act.

If any premises are used as a private hospital in breach of this section, the occupier thereof and all persons concerned in the management of the hospital shall each be deemed to have committed an offence against this Part of this Act, and shall be severally liable accordingly.

Every application for a licence to keep a private hospital shall be made in writing to the Director-General, and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed.

Every such application shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

No licence shall be granted unless the premises in respect of which the licence is applied for are approved by the Director-General as suitable for the purposes indicated in the application.

No licence shall be granted unless the Minister is satisfied as to the character of the applicant and his fitness to be the licensee of a private hospital.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the grant or refusal of a licence shall in all cases be in the absolute discretion of the Minister.

Every licensed hospital shall, according to the tenor of the licence issued in respect thereof, be of one of the following kinds, namely:

Every licence shall specify—

Any licence may, if the Minister thinks fit,—

The Minister may from time to time if he thinks fit, on an application in writing signed by any licensee, vary the terms of the licence, by endorsement thereon or otherwise in writing, by altering, in such manner as he thinks fit,—

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed to authorise the reception or maintenance in any psychiatric hospital of any mentally defective person within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1911.

On the grant of a licence for a private hospital the licensee shall pay a fee of such amount, not exceeding five pounds, as may be prescribed:

Provided that if the licence is granted after the thirty-first day of January in any year the prescribed licence fee shall be reduced by one-twelfth for every complete month between the date of the grant of the licence and the thirty-first day of December last preceding that date.

A licensee shall, in the month of December in each year, pay to the Crown such fee, not exceeding five pounds, as may be prescribed in respect of the continuance of the licence.

Where a licence has been granted to two or more persons jointly, and during the currency thereof any of those persons dies leaving the other or others surviving, the licence shall remain in force and have the same effect as if granted to the survivor or survivors.

On an application in writing signed by the licensee of any private hospital and by any person to whom he desires that his licence shall be transferred, the Minister may, if he thinks fit, by endorsement on the licence or otherwise in writing, transfer the licence to that person, and thereupon that person shall become the licensee of the hospital, with the same rights and obligations as if the licence had been granted to him.

If the licensee or the sole surviving licensee of a private hospital dies, the Minister may, if he thinks fit, by endorsement on the licence or otherwise in writing, transfer the licence to any person nominated in that behalf by the executors or administrators of the deceased licensee, and that person shall thereupon become the licensee of the hospital, with the same rights and obligations as if the licence had been granted to him.

In the meantime, unless the licence is revoked under this section or under section one hundred and thirty-two of this Act, the hospital shall be deemed to continue to be a licensed hospital under this Act, and the manager and other officers thereof shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to continue in office in the same manner as if the licensee were still living.

If the licence is not transferred under the authority of this section within two months after the death of the licensee or of the sole surviving licensee, the Minister may, by notice under his hand published in the Gazette, revoke the licence without notice, and thereupon the hospital shall cease to be a licensed hospital.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, every licence shall continue in force until it is revoked or surrendered in accordance with this Act.

No structural alteration or addition shall be made to any licensed hospital until a sufficient plan and description of the proposed alteration or addition have been given to the Director-General and approved by him.

If any alteration or addition is made in breach of this section, the licensee shall be deemed to have committed an offence against this Part of this Act.

If at any time, in the opinion of the Director-General, the premises or equipment of any licensed hospital have become inadequate or unsuitable for any of the purposes of the licence, he may, by notice in writing given to the licensee or the manager of the hospital, require the licensee, within such time as may be specified in the notice, to make such alterations in the premises or any part thereof, or to instal such equipment, as may in his opinion be necessary.

If within the time so specified, or within such further time as the Director-General may allow, the licensee fails to comply with the notice, the Minister may, if he thinks fit, either—

Before a licence is varied under subsection two of this section the Minister shall give notice to the licensee or manager of the ground on which it is proposed to vary the licence, and shall give the licensee or manager a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why the licence should not be so varied. Any such notice may be given to the licensee or manager either personally or by leaving it at the licensed hospital.

Subject to the provisions of section one hundred and forty-three of this Act, the decision of the Minister as to any variation of a licence under this section shall be final and conclusive.

Every licence may at any time be revoked by the Minister on any of the following grounds:

Before a licence is revoked on any of the grounds mentioned in this section the Minister shall give notice to the licensee or manager of the ground on which it is proposed so to revoke the licence, and shall give the licensee or manager a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why the licence should not be so revoked.

Any such notice may be given to the licensee or manager either personally or by leaving it at the licensed hospital; and any such revocation of a licence shall be effected by a notice under the hand of the Minister and published in the Gazette.

Subject to the provisions of section one hundred and forty-three of this Act, the decision of the Minister as to the revocation of a licence shall be final and conclusive.

Subject to the provisions of this section, any licensee may at any time surrender his licence by notice in writing to that effect sent to the Director-General.

The surrender shall take effect, and the private hospital shall cease to be a licensed hospital, on the expiry of three months after the date of the receipt of the notice by the Director-General, or on such earlier date as may be approved by the Director-General.

On or before the taking effect of the surrender, the licensee shall send the licence to the Director-General for cancellation.

The Minister may at any time, if in special circumstances he thinks it expedient to do so, grant a temporary licence for the keeping of a private hospital for such period, not exceeding one year, as he thinks fit.

The period for which a temporary licence is granted shall be specified in the licence.

The Minister may from time to time, by endorsement on the licence or otherwise in writing, extend the period of any temporary licence for such further period or periods as he thinks fit:

Provided that the total period for which a temporary licence, as so extended, may continue in force shall not exceed two years from the date on which it was originally granted.

All the provisions of this Part of this Act, except section one hundred and twenty-nine, shall apply with respect to a temporary licence under this section and with respect to the hospital to which the licence relates.

For every licensed hospital there shall at all times be a manager resident on the premises of the hospital, who may be either the licensee himself, if qualified under this section, or some qualified person appointed and employed by the licensee.

The manager shall be either—

For every licensed hospital of which the manager is a registered medical practitioner there shall be at all times resident on the premises, in addition to the manager,—

No person other than a licensee shall be appointed as the manager of a licensed hospital until the name and qualifications of that person have been notified to the Director-General and he has approved of the appointment.

During the temporary absence, illness, or incapacity of the manager of a licensed hospital the licensee may, without notice to the Director-General, appoint as acting manager thereof any other person qualified in accordance with this section, and every person so appointed shall, while he so acts, be deemed for all the purposes of this Act to be the manager of the hospital:

Provided that no such acting manager shall so act, whether under the same or successive appointments, for a longer continuous period than four weeks, except with the prior approval of the Director-General.

If at any time a licensed hospital is used as such while there is no manager or acting manager thereof in accordance with this section, or while the manager or acting manager is not resident on the premises of the hospital, the licensee thereof shall be deemed to have committed an offence against this Part of this Act.

The Minister may, in any case in which by reason of the special circumstances thereof he thinks fit so to do, and on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit, by warrant under his hand, exempt any licensed hospital from the requirements of subsection two of this section. Any exemption so granted by the Minister may be at any time withdrawn by him by notice under his hand and delivered to the licensee of the hospital.

No licence for a private hospital shall be granted, and no licence shall be transferred, to any person who is not qualified to be the manager of a licensed hospital in terms of section one hundred and thirty-five of this Act.

In every licensed hospital there shall be kept a Register of Patients, in which the licensee shall enter or cause to be entered:

The particulars required to be entered in the Register of Patients shall be entered therein as soon as practicable after the occurrence of the act or event to which the entry relates.

Every person commits an offence against this Part of this Act who knowingly makes any untrue entry in the Register of Patients.

Every licensee commits an offence against this Part of this Act who fails to make or cause to be made any entry in the Register of Patients in accordance with this Act.

In addition to the particulars required to be entered in the Register of Patients, there shall be kept in the prescribed manner and at the prescribed times in every licensed hospital such charts and records as may be prescribed.

Every person commits an offence against this Part of this Act who knowingly makes a false entry in any such chart or record.

Every licensee commits an offence against this Part of this Act who fails to keep or cause to be kept any such chart or record in the manner and at the times prescribed.

Every registered medical practitioner in attendance on a patient in a licensed hospital shall furnish to the licensee or manager of the hospital such particulars as may be necessary for making the prescribed entries in the Register of Patients or for keeping any charts or records prescribed under section one hundred and thirty-eight of this Act.

Every such registered medical practitioner commits an offence against this Part of this Act who refuses or fails to furnish any such particulars or who furnishes any false particulars.

A licensed hospital shall not be used for any purpose other than the purposes in respect of which the licence is granted, and purposes reasonably incidental thereto.

If any licensed hospital is used in any manner contrary to the provisions of this section the licensee and the manager thereof shall each be deemed to have committed an offence against this Part of this Act and shall be severally liable accordingly.

If at any time a licensed hospital is used for the maintenance of a greater number of patients than is permitted by the licence, or for the reception of any patient of a class not authorised by the licence, the licensee and the manager of the hospital shall each be deemed to have committed an offence against this Part of this Act and shall be severally liable accordingly.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection one of this section, the Medical Officer of Health within the meaning of the Health Act 1956 may from time to time, by writing under his hand, grant to the licensee an exemption, for such period and subject to such conditions and restrictions as he thinks fit, from any of the provisions of that subsection.

The manager of a licensed hospital shall be deemed to be the occupier of the premises for the purpose of giving notice under section seventy-five of the Health Act 1956 of any patient, or of any person living on the premises, who is suspected to be suffering from a notifiable infectious disease.

If any licensee or manager of any private hospital, or any medical practitioner, affected by any decision or requirement of the Minister or of the Director-General or of any officer of the Department of Health under this Act in relation to any private hospital is dissatisfied with that decision or requirement, he may, within twenty-one days after notice of that decision or requirement is given to him under this Act, give notice of appeal, in writing, to the Board of Health established under the Health Act 1956.

The Board of Health shall forthwith appoint a committee, under section eighteen of the Health Act 1956, to hear the appeal. No officer or employee of the Department of Health shall be appointed as a member of that committee.

The parties to the appeal shall be entitled to be heard either personally or by their solicitors, counsel, or agents.

For the purpose of hearing the appeal the committee shall be deemed to be a Commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, and the provisions of that Act, except sections eleven and twelve (which relate to costs), shall apply as if the hearing of the appeal were an inquiry under that Act:

Provided that the Chairman of any such Commission may exercise all the powers of the Commission in respect of citing parties and summoning witnesses, and may do any other act preliminary or incidental to the hearing or consideration of any matter by the Commission.

After hearing the appeal the committee may make to the Minister such recommendations in the matter as it thinks proper in the circumstances.

If the Director-General, or the Director of the Division of Hospitals under the Health Act 1956, or any Assistant Director of that Division, has reason to believe or suspect that any premises are used as a private hospital without any licence being in force in respect thereof in accordance with this Act, he may at any time by himself, or by any person authorised by him in that behalf, enter and inspect those premises and every part thereof.

Every person commits an offence against this Part of this Act who wilfully obstructs, hinders, or resists any person in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by or under this section.

Every person who commits an offence against this Part of this Act is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and, if the offence is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the offence has continued.

In any prosecution for an offence against this Part of this Act the burden of proving that any person residing in any premises and there receiving any medical treatment is not a patient within the meaning of this Part of this Act shall lie upon the defendant.

In any prosecution for an offence against this Part of this Act the burden of proving that a licence is in force in respect of any private hospital, and of proving the terms of that licence, and of proving that any person apparently having the charge, control, or management of the hospital is not the manager thereof within the meaning of this Act, shall lie upon the defendant.

For the purposes of this Act, there may from time to time be appointed, under the Public Service Act 1912, such Inspectors of Hospitals as may be deemed necessary.

The Minister may from time to time appoint any person, not being an employee of the Public Service, as an Inspector of Hospitals in a part-time capacity, and may, with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, fix any remuneration to be paid to any person so appointed. No person so appointed shall be deemed by reason of that appointment to be employed in the service of Her Majesty for the purposes of the Public Service Act 1912 or the Superannuation Act 1956.

Any appointment under or by virtue of this section may be made either generally for the purposes of this Act, or for any specified purpose, or for any specified period.

Any such appointment may be made in respect of institutions, separate institutions, or licensed hospitals generally or in respect of any specified institution, separate institution, or licensed hospital, or in respect of any specified class of institution, separate institution, or licensed hospital.

Every Inspector of Hospitals shall, under the control of the Director-General, perform such official duties as he is authorised or required to perform by this Act or by the direction of the Director-General.

Every person appointed as an Assistant Inspector under the Hospitals Act 1926 and holding office as such at the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been appointed as an Inspector of Hospitals under this Act, and shall continue to hold office as such in accordance with the terms of his appointment.

The Director-General may at any time, with or without previous notice, visit and inspect any institution, separate institution, or licensed hospital, and all premises used for the purposes thereof or in connection therewith, and any property or service under the control of a Hospital Board.

Whenever the Director-General exercises his powers under this section, it shall be the duty of every person—

The Director and any Assistant Director of the Division of Hospitals under the Health Act 1956, and the Director of the Division of Nursing under that Act, shall each have all the powers of the Director-General under this section, and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

Every Inspector of Hospitals, acting within the scope of the authority conferred on him by section one hundred and forty-seven of this Act, shall have all the powers of the Director-General under this section, and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

Every person commits an offence against this Act and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds who—

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the hours of employment of unregistered nurses employed in hospitals under the control of Hospital Boards, or in private hospitals approved as training schools under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1945, shall not exceed fifty-six in any one week.

In this section, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Where any person dies while he is an inmate or patient of any institution, and there is in the possession or custody of the Board any sum of money, not exceeding two hundred pounds, belonging to or payable to the deceased person, and probate of the will of the deceased person or letters of administration of his estate is or are not produced within such time as the Board thinks reasonable, the Board may in its discretion, without requiring probate or letters of administration, pay the money or any part thereof to any of the following persons, namely:

The Board shall be entitled to deduct and retain from any money to be paid under this section any amount lawfully recoverable by the Board in respect of the cost of relief provided by it for the deceased person, and the amount of any funeral expenses paid by the Board in respect of that person and not recovered by it.

Payment of any money pursuant to this section shall discharge the Board from all further liability in respect thereof.

Every person to whom any such money is paid pursuant to this section shall be liable to apply the money in due course of administration, and the Board may if it thinks fit, without being liable to see to the application of any such money, require any such person to give sufficient security, by bond or otherwise, that the money so paid will be so applied.

Notice of every payment made under this section shall be given to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue in the manner and within the time prescribed by section sixty-eight of the Estate and Gift Duties Act 1955.

The powers conferred by this section on any Board shall be exercised subject to any regulations in relation thereto that may be made under this Act.

If the owner of any personal property that has been left for not less than two years in the possession of any Board or of the Trustees of any separate institution is not known or cannot be found, or fails or refuses to claim that property within three months after being requested in writing by the Secretary to the Board or Trustees to do so, the Board or the Trustees may publicly notify by advertisement in a newspaper or newspapers circulating in the district that, unless in the meantime the personal property is claimed and any charges thereon are paid, it will be sold by public auction at a place and on a day to be named in the advertisement, being a day not earlier than one month after the date of the first publication of the advertisement.

If the property is not claimed before the day named in the advertisement it may be sold in terms of the advertisement.

The net proceeds of the sale shall be paid into and form part of the general funds of the Board or of the separate institution, as the case may require.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection three of this section, any person who thereafter establishes the fact that at the time of the sale he had a lawful claim to any property so sold shall be entitled to recover from the Board or the Trustees, as the case may require, as a debt due to him, the amount so paid into the funds of the Board or of the separate institution in respect of the proceeds of the sale of that property:

Provided that where the property so sold belonged to any deceased person whose funeral expenses were paid by the Board or the Trustees, or for whose relief any amount is lawfully recoverable by the Board or the Trustees, the amount so paid in respect of those funeral expenses (except any part thereof that has been recovered by the Board or the Trustees otherwise than from the net proceeds of the sale), together with the amount (if any) lawfully recoverable for relief, shall be a first charge on those proceeds, and the person claiming under this subsection shall be entitled to recover only the balance, if any, after the satisfaction of that charge.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act.

Without limiting the generality of subsection one of this section, it is hereby declared that regulations may be made under this section for all or any of the following purposes:

Without limiting the general power to make regulations under section one hundred and fifty-two of this Act, such regulations may be made under that section in respect of maternity hospitals and maternity wards as may in the opinion of the Governor-General be necessary or expedient for all or any of the following purposes: