Nursing Homes (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1950

Jersey Law 10/1950 NURSING HOMES (REGISTRATION) (JERSEY) LAW, 1950. ____________ A LAW to provide for the registration and inspection of nursing homes and matters incidental thereto, sanctioned by Order of His Majesty in Council of the 26th day of JUNE, 1950. ____________ (Registered on the 15th day of July, 1950). ____________ STATES OF JERSEY. ____________ The 31st day of January, 1950. ____________ T HE STATES, subject to the sanction of His Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: - ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires – “the appointed day” means the sixtieth day after the date of the promulgation of this Law; “certified midwife” means a person authorized to exercise the profession of midwife in the Island under the “ Loi sur la Santé Publique (Sages-Femmes)”, passed by the States on the 18th day of August, 1922, and confirmed by Order of His Majesty in Council of the 13th day of October, 1922; 1 “the Committee” means the Committee of the States constituted by virtue of Article 1 of the “ Loi (1934) sur la Santé Publique”; 2 “maternity home” means any premises used or intended to be used for the reception of pregnant women, or of women immediately after childbirth; “Medical Officer of Health” means the “ Inspecteur Médical ” appointed under Article 10 of the “ Loi (1934) sur la Santé Publique”; 3 “nursing home” means any premises used or intended to be used for the reception of, and the provision of nursing for, persons suffering from any sickness, injury or infirmity, and includes a maternity home, but does not include – (a) any hospital or other premises maintained or controlled by a department of His Majesty’s Government, the States or any administration thereof, a parochial authority, or any other authority or body incorporated by Act of the States, duly confirmed by Order of His Majesty in Council; (b) any institution, house or home licensed under the Law entitled “ Règlement pour la régie et la surveillance des Maisons d’Aliénés Licenciées et pour la protection des Aliénés ”, passed by the States on the 22nd day of January, 1883, and confirmed by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the 3rd day of March, 1883, as amended; 4 [“pupil midwife” means a person who is undergoing training with a view to becoming a certified midwife and, for that purpose, attending women in childbirth as part of a course of practical midwifery recognized by the Committee;] 5 “qualified nurse” means a person who is a qualified nurse within the meaning of Part VI of the Public Health Act, 1936 (26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8, c.49) or of any other Act of Parliament which may amend or replace the same; “registered medical practitioner” means a physician or surgeon registered by the Royal Court under the enactments for the time being regulating the exercise in the Island of the profession of medical practitioner. ARTICLE 2 REGISTRATION OF NURSING HOMES (1) If any person, on or after the appointed day, carries on a nursing home without being registered under this Law in respect thereof, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds sterling or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds sterling, or to both such imprisonment and such fine. [(1A) Every registration shall expire on the thirty-first day of December in the year in which it takes effect, but shall be renewable annually in manner provided by this Law.] 5 [(2) An application for registration or for renewal of registration shall be made in writing to the Committee in such form (if any) and at such time as the Committee may require and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee.] 6 (3) Subject to the provisions of this Law, the Committee shall, on receipt of [an application for registration or for renewal of registration, register or renew the registration of the applicant] 7 in respect of the nursing home named in the application and issue to him a certificate of registration: Provided that the Committee may refuse to register [,or to renew the registration of,] 8 the applicant if it is satisfied – ( a ) that he or any person employed, or proposed to be employed, by him at the home is not a fit person, whether by reason of age or otherwise, to carry on or to be employed at a nursing home of such a description as the nursing home named in the application; or ( b ) that, for reasons connected with situation, construction, state of repair, accommodation, staffing or equipment, the home or any premises used in connexion therewith are not fit to be used for a nursing home of such a description as the nursing home named in the application, or that the home or premises are used or proposed to be used for purposes which are in any way improper or undesirable in the case of such a nursing home; or ( c ) in the case of a nursing home not being a maternity home, that the home is not, or will not be, under the charge of a person who is either a registered medical practitioner or a qualified nurse and is or will be resident in the home, or that there is not, or will not be, a proper proportion of qualified nurses among the persons having the superintendence of, or employed in the nursing of the patients in, the home; or ( d ) in the case of a maternity home, that the person who has, or will have, the superintendence of the nursing of the patients in the home is not either a qualified nurse or a certified midwife, or that any person employed, or proposed to be employed, in attending any women in the home in childbirth, or in nursing any patient in the home, is not either a registered medical practitioner, a certified midwife, a pupil midwife, or a qualified nurse. (4) The certificate of registration issued in respect of a nursing home shall be kept affixed in a conspicuous place in the home and, if default is made in complying with this paragraph, the person carrying on the home shall be guilty of an offence against this Law. [ARTICLE 2A REGISTRATION FEES (1) The fee payable under paragraph (2) of Article 2 of this Law shall be as follows: - (a) in respect of a first registration .......................... £10.00 (b) in respect of renewal of registration .................. £5.00. (2) The States may by Regulations amend the fees specified in this Article.] 9 ARTICLE 3 CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION Subject to the provisions of this Law, the Committee may at any time cancel the registration of a person in respect of a nursing home on any ground which would entitle the Committee to refuse an application for the registration of that person in respect of that home, or on the ground that that person has been convicted of an offence against the provisions of this Law or of any order made thereunder, or on the ground that any other person has been convicted of such an offence in respect of that home. ARTICLE 4 PROCEDURE AND RIGHT OF APPEAL ON REFUSAL OR CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION (1) The Committee shall not refuse an application for registration [or renewal of registration] 10 under this Law, or cancel any such registration, unless it has given to the applicant or person registered, as the case may be, not less than fourteen days’ notice in writing of its intention to do so and of its reasons for so doing, and every such notice shall contain an intimation that, if within fourteen days after the receipt of the notice the applicant or person registered informs the Committee in writing that he desires so to do, the Committee will, before refusing the application or cancelling the registration, give him an opportunity of being heard, in person or by a representative, against such refusal or cancellation. (2) Any notice to be given to any person under paragraph (1) of this Article may be sent by registered post in a letter addressed to him at his usual or last-known place of abode or, in the case of a company, at its registered office or its principal place of business. (3) If the Committee, after giving to the applicant or to the person registered an opportunity of being heard, decides to refuse the application for registration or to cancel the registration, it shall, if required by the applicant or person registered, deliver to him, within seven days of the receipt of such requirement, particulars in writing of the reasons for such refusal or cancellation. (4) Any person aggrieved by such refusal or cancellation may appeal to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court either in term or in vacation. ARTICLE 5 ORDERS (1) The Committee may by order prescribe – (a) the records to be kept of the patients received into a nursing home, and, in the case of a maternity home, of any miscarriages occurring in the home, and of the children born therein, and of the children so born who are removed from the home otherwise than to the custody or care of a parent, guardian or relative; (b) the notices to be given when any death occurs in a nursing home. (2) Every order made under this Article – (a) shall come into force on the date prescribed thereby; (b) may be amended or revoked by a subsequent order; (c) shall remain in force until revoked; and (d) shall be laid before the States as soon as may be after it is made, and if the States, within the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day on which such order is laid before them, resolve that it be annulled, it shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of any new order. (3) The Greffier of the States shall cause every order made under this Article to be printed and shall cause to be published in two newspapers circulating in the Island, one being a publication in French and the other a publication in English, 11 a notice stating that the order has been made, the date of the coming into force thereof and the place at which printed copies thereof may be purchased. (4) If any person acts in contravention of or fails to comply with the provisions of any order made under this Article, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Law. ARTICLE 6 INSPECTION (1) The Medical Officer of Health, or other authorized officer of the Committee, may at all reasonable times enter and inspect any premises which are used, or which that officer has reasonable cause to believe to be used, for the purposes of a nursing home, and inspect any records required to be kept in accordance with the provisions of any order made under this Law: Provided that nothing in this Law shall be deemed to authorize any such officer to inspect any medical record relating to a patient in a nursing home. (2) If any person refuses to allow any such officer to enter or inspect any such premises as aforesaid or to inspect any such records as aforesaid, or obstructs any such officer in the execution of his powers under this Article, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Law. ARTICLE 7 POWER TO EXEMPT INSTITUTIONS NOT CARRIED ON FOR PROFIT (1) The Committee may grant exemption from the operation of the provisions of this Law in respect of any hospital or institution not carried on for profit, and may attach conditions to any exemption so granted. (2) An exemption granted under this Article may be withdrawn at any time and, unless previously withdrawn, shall cease to have effect on the expiration of one year from the date on which it is granted, without prejudice, however, to the power of the Committee to grant a further exemption: Provided that, if the Committee deems it convenient that all such exemptions should expire on the same date in any year, it may, for the purpose of securing that object, grant exemptions for any period not being less than six months or more than eighteen months. ARTICLE 8 POWER TO EXEMPT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE NURSING HOMES (1) The Committee may grant exemption from the operation of this Law in respect of any nursing home which it is satisfied is being, or will be, carried on in accordance with the practice and principles of the body known as the Church of Christ Scientist. (2) It shall be a condition of any exemption granted under this Article that the nursing home shall adopt and use the name of Christian Science house. (3) An exemption granted under this Article may at any time be withdrawn by the Committee, if it appears to the Committee that that home is no longer being carried on in accordance with the said practice and principles. [ARTICLE 8A RESTRICTION ON DESCRIPTION OF PREMISES It shall not be lawful for any person to use the expression “nursing home” or the expression “maternity home” in the designation of any premises unless – (a) the premises are a nursing home or a maternity home, as the case may be, and the person carrying on the home is registered under this Law in respect thereof; or (b) the premises are premises of a description mentioned in sub-paragraph ( a ) or ( b ) of the definition of “nursing home” contained in Article 1 of this Law; or (c) exemption from the provisions of this Law has been granted in respect of the premises.] 12 ARTICLE 9 PENALTIES FOR OFFENCES Any person who commits an offence against this Law for which no special penalty is provided shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds sterling and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding two pounds sterling for each day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor. ARTICLE 10 OFFENCES BY COMPANIES Where a person convicted of an offence against any of the provisions of this Law or of any order made thereunder is a company, the chairman and every director of the company and every officer of the company concerned in its management shall be guilty of the like offence, unless he proves that the act constituting the offence took place without his knowledge or consent. ARTICLE 11 FEES AND EXPENSES (1) All fees received in pursuance of this Law shall be credited to the General Revenues of the States. (2) The costs of the administration of this Law shall be defrayed out of the General Revenues of the States. ARTICLE 12 SHORT TITLE This Law may be cited as the Nursing Homes (Registration) (Jersey) Law, 1950. To be printed, published and posted. F. DE L. BOIS, Greffeir of the States. 1 Tomes IV–VI, page 556. 2 Page 114 of this Tome. 3 Page 117 of this Tome. 4 See now Mental Health (Jersey) Law, 1969 (Volume 1968–1969, page 418). 5 Definition substituted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1951 (Volume 1951–1953, page 81). 5 Paragraph inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975-19-, page 97. 6 Paragraph inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975–19–, page 97). 7 Words substituted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975–19–, page 98). 8 Words inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975–19–, page 98). 9 Article inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975–19–, page 98). 10 Words inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1976 (Volume 1975–19–, page 98). 11 See Official Publications (Jersey) Law, 1960 (Volume 1957–1960, page 571). 12 Article inserted by Nursing Homes (Registration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1951 (Volume 1951–1953, page 82).