This Act may be cited as the Hospitals Amendment Act 1966, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Hospitals Act 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

2 Additional function of the Minister

Section 3 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after paragraph (a), the following paragraph:

“(aa)

To encourage the provision and maintenance by Hospital Boards, to such extent as he considers necessary, of services and facilities for the advancement of medical education and research at or in connection with hospitals:”.

3 Functions and duties of Hospital Boards

(1)

Section 4 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing paragraph (c) of subsection (1), and substituting the following paragraph:

“(c)

To make such provision as the Minister from time to time thinks necessary for the reception, relief, care, treatment, isolation, and removal to a hospital or other place of—

“(i)

Persons who are suffering from any injury or disease, or who are otherwise in need of relief, care, or treatment:

“(ii)

Women requiring care or treatment in or in respect of childbirth:

“(iii)

Persons who have been in contact with other persons suffering from any infectious disease as defined in the Health Act 1956:

“(iv)

Aged, infirm, incurable, or destitute persons:

“(v)

Any person who is willing to donate any organ or other part from his body or who is otherwise prepared to undergo medical or surgical procedure or operation for the purpose of assisting the relief and medical or surgical treatment of some other person or for the advancement of medical knowledge, education, or research:”.

(2)

Section 4 of the principal Act is hereby further amended by adding to subsection (1) the following paragraph:

“(f)

To provide such other hospital and medical services, facilities, and amenities as the Minister may from time to time specify pursuant to his functions under this Act.”

4 Constitution of Marlborough Hospital Board

Section 26 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing subsection (3).

5 Meetings of Hospital Boards

Section 42 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing subsection (5), and substituting the following subsection:

“(5)

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

6 Grants on retirement or death of officers or employees

(1)

Section 52A of the principal Act (as inserted by section 2(1) of the Hospitals Amendment Act 1962 and amended by section 2 of the Hospitals Amendment Act 1964) is hereby further amended by inserting, after subsection (1), the following subsection:

“(1A)

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this subsection—

“(a)

The length of service of any officer or employee with the Public Service, the Post Office, or the New Zealand Government Railways Department shall be calculated in accordance with the law and practice applicable to those organisations at the time when the service was given:

“(b)

Service with a Board shall be deemed to have continued during an interval in employment—

“(i)

During the whole of which the officer or employee served in the New Zealand armed forces, or the armed forces of any Commonwealth country, after having joined those forces at a time when New Zealand was at war or was engaged in any warlike operations or armed conflict:

“(ii)

During the whole of which an officer or employee served in the New Zealand armed forces after having been called up for service under the National Military Service Act 1961:

“(iii)

Which is due to any other cause which the Minister considers sufficient:

“Provided that the Minister may direct that part of any interval to which subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph relates shall be excluded when calculating the length of service with a Board, and the length of service shall then be calculated accordingly.”

(2)

The said section 52A is hereby further amended by inserting, after subsection (4), the following subsection:

“(4A)

For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, the term “gratuity” where it secondly appears includes any retiring allowance or other payment on retirement (by whatever name it is called) except any superannuation or pension payment.”

(3)

The said section 52A is hereby further amended by repealing subsection (5), and substituting the following subsection:

“(5)

Subject to this section and to any regulations made for the purposes of this section, all payments and deductions made pursuant to this section shall be calculated in such manner as the Minister may from time to time determine.”

7 Access by teachers and students

Section 59 of the principal Act (as amended by section 3(1) of the New Zealand University Amendment Act 1957) is hereby further amended by omitting from subsection (1) the words “constituent institution of the University of New Zealand”, and substituting the words “university in New Zealand”.

8 Medical information

Section 62 of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting from paragraph (d) of subsection (2) the words “the Navy Department, the Army Department, or the Air Department”, and substituting the words “the Transport Department, or the Ministry of Defence”.

9 Laboratory tests

Section 63 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing paragraph (c), and substituting the following paragraph:

“(c)

For the carrying out of laboratory tests and examinations for the purposes of diagnosing, treating, or assessing any disease, physical ailment, or illness whatsoever or determining whether or not persons possess immunity or resistance to any disease.”

10 Free care of persons donating organs of the body

The principal Act is hereby further amended by inserting, after section 77, the following section:

“77A

Any Board may agree to provide relief, care, and treatment free of charge to any person who is willing to donate any organ or other part from his body or who is otherwise prepared to undergo medical or surgical procedure or operation for the purpose of assisting—

“(a)

The relief and medical or surgical treatment of some other person; or

“(b)

The advancement of medical knowledge, education, or research.”

11 Power to release persons from contractual obligations

The principal Act is hereby further amended by repealing section 80, and substituting the following section:

“80

A Board may, before or after the commencement of any proceedings in respect of any debt or sum of money owed to it, or in respect of any breach of contract,—

“(a)

Compound with the person from whom the debt or sum of money is due, or who is in breach of contract, for such sum of money or other recompense as it thinks fit:

“(b)

With the consent of the Minister, release any person from his contractual obligations with the Board or from his liability to pay any debt or sum of money owed.”

12 Managers of licensed private hospitals

(1)

Section 135 of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting from subsection (7) the words “from the requirements of subsection (2) of this section”, and substituting the words “from all or any of the requirements of subsections (1) to (5) of this section”.

(2)

The said section 135 is hereby further amended by inserting at the beginning of subsection (6), before the word “If”, the words “Subject to subsection (7) of this section”.

13 Power to hold licence

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 136, and substituting the following section:

“136

“(1)

A licence for a private hospital may be granted or transferred to any person or persons or to any corporation empowered by any enactment or by its memorandum of association, rules, or constitution to operate a private hospital.

“(2)

Any application or notice required or permitted to be made, signed, or given under this part of this Act by any applicant or licensee that is a corporation aggregate shall either be under the seal of the corporation or be signed on its behalf by two members of the board of directors or committee or board of trustees or other governing body of the corporation or by one such member and the secretary or other proper officer of the corporation.”

(2)

Section 122 of the principal Act is hereby amended by adding to subsection (1) the words “or, where the applicant is a corporation aggregate, as to the character of the members of the board of directors or committee or board of trustees or other governing body of the corporation and their fitness to supervise the administration of a private hospital”.

(3)

Section 126 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “dies”, the words “or, being a corporation, is dissolved”.

(4)

Section 128 of the principal Act is hereby amended—

(a)

By inserting in subsection (1), after the word “dies”, the words “or, being a corporation, is dissolved”:

(b)

By inserting in subsection (1), after the words “deceased licensee”, the words “or, where the licensee was a corporation, by the liquidator or like person responsible for the winding up of the corporation”:

(c)

By inserting in subsection (3), after the word “death”, the words “or dissolution”.

14 Furnishing medical information relating to patients in private hospitals

The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 139, the following section:

“139A

“(1)

The Director-General of Health may from time to time request any licensee of a licensed hospital, and any medical practitioner who attends patients at a licensed hospital, to furnish medical information concerning the condition or treatment of patients in the hospital in order to obtain Statistics for medical purposes or for the purposes of advancing medical knowledge, education, or research.

“(2)

On receipt of a request in that behalf, the licensee or medical practitioner, as the case may be, may furnish information for the aforesaid purposes to the Director-General of Health in the form prescribed by him. The information may be furnished as aforesaid whether or not it is obtainable from a register or record required to be maintained under this Act and whether or not it relates to any patient who has been discharged from the hospital.

“(3)

Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary, no licensee or medical practitioner shall incur civil or criminal liability by reason only that he furnished medical information in accordance with this section.”

15 Inspection of unlicensed premises

Section 144 of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting from subsection (1) the words “Director-General, or the Director of the Division of Hospitals under the Health Act 1956, or any Assistant Director of that Division”, and substituting the words “Director-General or Deputy Director-General of Health, or the Director or any Deputy or Assistant Director of the Division of Hospitals of the Department of Health”.

16 Inspection of hospitals

Section 148 of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting from subsection (3) the words “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”, and substituting the words “Deputy Director-General of Health, the Director or any Deputy or Assistant Director of the Division of Hospitals of the Department of Health, and the Director of the Division of Nursing of that Department”.

17 Regulations

(1)

Section 152 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting in paragraph (c) of subsection (2), after the words “Regulating elections”, the words “and appointments”.

(2)

Section 152 of the principal Act is hereby further amended by inserting, after paragraph (1) of subsection (2), the following paragraphs:

“(ll)

Regulating or prohibiting, for the purpose of preventing the spread of any communicable disease within the meaning of the Health Act 1956, the admission of persons into a private hospital where any patients are suffering from any such disease:

“(lm)

Regulating or providing for the custody and disposal of registers required to be kept in accordance with this Act:”.

18 Hospital districts

The First Schedule to the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting—

(a)

From the item relating to the Auckland Hospital District the word “Manukau”:

(b)

From the item relating to the Waiapu Hospital District the word “Matakaoa”:

(c)

From the item relating to the Cook Hospital District the word “Uawa”:

(d)

From the item relating to the Wellington Hospital District the word “Makara”:

(e)

From the item relating to the Wairarapa Hospital District the word “Castlepoint”, and also the word “Mauriceville”:

(f)

From the item relating to the Marlborough Hospital District the words “Sounds; and also the Kenepuru and Croisilles-French Pass Road Districts”:

(g)

From the item relating to the Nelson Hospital District the word “Murchison”:

(h)

From the item relating to the North Canterbury Hospital District the word “Springs”, and also the word “Selwyn”.

19 Waimate and Picton Hospitals

(1)

The Fifth Schedule to the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing clause 3, and substituting the following clause:

“3

The mode of election or appointment and the tenure of office of the persons so elected or appointed shall be prescribed by regulations made under this Act.”

(2)

The Sixth Schedule to the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing clause 3, and substituting the following clause:

“3

The mode of election or appointment and the tenure of office of the persons so elected or appointed shall be prescribed by regulations made under this Act.”

20 Picton Hospital Committee

(1)

The Sixth Schedule to the principal Act is hereby further amended by repealing clause 2, and substituting the following clause:

“2

There shall at all times be a local committee of management for the hospital, consisting of five members, of whom two shall be appointed by the Marlborough Hospital Board, one shall be elected by the electors of the Borough of Picton, one shall be elected by the electors of the Spring Creek-Picton Riding of the County of Marlborough, and one shall be elected by the electors of the Kenepuru Riding of the County of Marlborough.”

(2)

The Sixth Schedule to the principal Act is hereby further amended by omitting from clause 5 the words “and as if, in the case of the members appointed by the Minister, the areas they are appointed to represent were constituent districts of the Marlborough Hospital District”.

(3)

Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall come into force on the date of the triennial general election of Hospital Boards following the passing of this Act; and until that date the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the principal Act shall continue to have full force and effect as if the Order in Council dated the fourth day of August, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, and published in the Gazette on the fifth day of August, nineteen hundred and sixty-five (which ordered the inclusion and merger of the areas comprised within the County of Sounds, the Croisilles-French Pass Road District, and the Kenepuru Road District with the County of Marlborough) had not been made.

This Act is administered in the Department of Health.

Hospitals Amendment Act 1966