BOMBAY NURSING HOMES REGISTRATION ACT, 1949

BOMBAY NURSING HOMES REGISTRATION ACT, 1949

Preamble - THE BOMBAY NURSING HOMES REGISTRATION ACT, 1949

THE BOMBAY NURSING HOMES REGISTRATION ACT, 1949[1]

[Act No. 15 of 1949][2]

[6th May, 1949]

PREAMBLE

An Act to provide for the registration and inspection of nursing homes in the [3][State of Bombay] and for certain purposes connected therewith.

WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the registration and inspection of nursing homes in the Province of Bombay and for certain purposes connected therewith; It is hereby enacted as follows :-

NOTES

Statement of Objects and Reasons.- This Act was designed to extend the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act. 1949. to the Vidarbha, Hyderabad and Kutch areas of the State of Bombay where there was no corresponding Act in force. It was further intended to provide that sections 2 to 18 of the principal Act shall automatically extend to the area of Nagpur Corporation as in the case of Corporation areas in the pre-Reorganisation State of Bombay. As regards the rest of the areas to which the principal Act was sought to be extended, this Act provided that the provisions of these sections could be extended by the State Government by a notification in the Official Gazette.- [Mah. 42 of 1959.]

Section 1 - Short title, extent and commencement

(1)     This Act may be called the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949.

[4][(2) This section extends to the whole of the [5][State of Maharashtra]. The remaining provisions of this Act extend to Greater Bombay, the [6][City of Poona] as constituted under section 3 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, the City of Nagpur as constituted under the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948 and the Municipal Borough of Sholapur. The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the said provisions shall extend to such other areas as may be specified in the notification.]

(3) This section shall come into force at once. The [7][State] Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force in any area to which the said provisions extend or may have been extended under sub-section (2) on such date as may be specified in the notification.

NOTIFICATIONS

G.N., U.D., P.H. & H.D., No. NHM. 1161/39497-G, dated 29th August, 1966 (M.G., Pt. IV-B, p. 1597)

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949 (Bom. XV of 1949), the Government of Maharashtra hereby directs that the provisions of the said Act (other than section 1 thereof, which has already come into force), shall come into force on the first day of October, 1966, in the following areas, that is to say - '

1.        The City of Nagpur as constituted under the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948.

2.        That part of Greater Bombay.

3.           That part of the City of Poona and City of Sholapur, constituted under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 wherein the said provisions have not already come into force.

Section 2 - Definitions

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-

(1)     "by-laws" means by-laws made by the local supervising authority;

[8][(1a) "district local board" in relation to any area other than a municipal area, means a district local board, district board, district panchayat or Janapada Sabha or similar local authority established under any law for the time being in force relating to the constitution of such authorities and having jurisdiction over such area];

[9][(2) "local supervising authority" means,-

(i)       in the areas falling within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation the Health Officer of the concerned Municipal Corporation; 

(ii)      in the areas falling within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council the Civil Surgeon of the District in which such Council is situated; 

(iii)     in the areas falling within the jurisdiction of a Cantonment the Health Officer of the concerned Cantonment; 

(iv)    in the areas not falling in sub-clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above the District Health Officer of the concerned Zilla Parishad.]

(3) ?"maternity home" means any premises used, or intended to be used, for the reception of pregnant women or of women in or immediately after child birth;

[10][(3a) "municipality" means a municipal corporation, municipality, municipal committee, town committee or similar local authority established under any law for the time being in force relating to the constitution of such authorities and "municipal area" means the local area within the jurisdiction of a municipality;]

(4) ?"nursing home" means any premises used or intended to be used, for the reception of persons suffering from any sickness, injury or infirmity and the providing of treatment and nursing for them, and includes a maternity home; and the expression "to carry on a nursing home" means to receive persons in a nursing home for any of the aforesaid purposes and to provide treatment or nursing for them;

(5) ?"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(6) "qualified medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner registered under the Bombay Medical Act, 1912, or any other law for the time being in force;

[11][(7) "qualified midwife" means a midwife registered or deemed to be registered under the Bombay Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, 1954 or any other corresponding law for the time being in force;

(8) "qualified nurse" means a nurse registered or deemed to be registered under the Bombay Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act, 1954 or any other corresponding law for the time being in force;]

(9) "register" means to register under section 5 of this Act and the expressions "registered" and "registration" shall be construed accordingly;

(10) "rules" means rules made under this Act.

Section 3 - Prohibition to carry on nursing home without registration

No person shall carry on a nursing home unless he has been duly registered in respect of such nursing home and the registration in respect thereof has not been cancelled under section 7 :

Provided that, nothing in this section shall apply in the case of a nursing home [12][which is in existence in any area at the date of the coming into force of section 3 in that area] for a period of three months from such date or if an application for registration is made within that period in accordance with the provisions of section 4 until such application is finally disposed of.

Section 4 - Application for registration

(1)     Every person intending to carry on a nursing home shall make every year an application for registration or the renewal of registration to the local supervising authority :

Provided that, in the case of nursing home [13][which is in existence in any area at the date of the coming into force of section 3 in that area] an application for registration shall be made within three months from such date.

(2)     Every application for registration or the renewal of registration shall be made on such date and in such form and shall be accompanied by such fee, as may be prescribed.

Section 5 - Registration

(1)     Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules, the local supervising authority shall, on receipt of an application for registration, register the applicant in respect of the nursing home named in the application and issue to him a certificate of registration in the prescribed form:

Provided that, the local supervising authority may refuse to register the applicant if it is satisfied ?

(a)      that he, or any person employed by him at the nursing home, is not a fit person, whether by reason of age or otherwise, to carry on or to be employed at nursing home of such a description as the nursing home named in the application; or 

[14][(b) that the nursing home is not under the management of a person who is holding a degree in medical sciences and who is resident in the home, or that there is not a prescribed proportion of qualified nurses employed in the nursing home to the number of patient in it; or;]

(c) ?that in the case of a maternity home it has not got on its staff a qualified midwife; or

[15][(c-1) that the area of the premises of the nursing home is less than the prescribed area;

(c-2) that the number of beds available in the nursing home exceeds than those prescribed;

(c-3) that the nursing home is owned or is under the management of a Government Medical Officer;]

(d) ?that for reasons connected with the situation, construction, accommodation, staffing or equipment, the nursing home or any premises used in connection therewith are not fit to be used for a nursing home of such a description as the nursing home mentioned in the application or that the nursing home or premises are used or are to be used for purposes which are in any way improper or undesirable in the case of such nursing home.

[16][(2) A certificate of registration issued under this section shall, subject to the provisions of section 7, be in force and shall be valid until the 31st day of March of the third year next following the date on which such certificate is issued or renewed, as the case may be.]

(3) ?The certificate of registration issued in respect of a nursing home shall be kept affixed in a conspicuous place in the nursing home.

Section 6 - Penalty for non-registration

[17][Whoever contravenes the provisions of section 3, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.)

Section 7 - Cancellation of registration

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the local supervising authority may at any time cancel the registration of a person in respect of any nursing home on any ground which would entitle it to refuse an application for the registration of that person in respect of that home, or on the ground that, the at person has been convicted of an offence under this Act or that any other person has been convicted of such an offence in respect of that home.

Section 8 - Notice of refusal or of cancellation of registration

(1)     Before making an order refusing an application for registration or an order cancelling any registration, the local supervising authority shall give to the applicant or to the person registered, as the case may be, not less than one calendar month's notice of its intention to make such an order, and every such notice shall state the grounds on which the local supervising authority intends to make the order and shall contain and intimation that if within a calendar month after the receipt of the notice the applicant or person registered informs the authority in writing that he desires so to do, the local supervising authority shall, before making the order, give him (in person or by a representative) an opportunity of showing cause why the order should not be made.

(2)     If the local supervising authority, after giving the applicant or the person registered an opportunity of showing cause as aforesaid, decides to refuse the application for registration or to cancel the registration, as the case may be, it shall make an order to that effect and shall send a copy of the order by registered post to the applicant or the person registered.

(3)     Any person aggrieved by an order refusing an application for registration or cancelling any registration may, within a calendar month after the date on which the copy of the order was sent to him, appeal to the [18][State] Government against such order of refusal. The decision of the [19][State] Government on any such appeal shall be final.

(4)     No such order shall come into force until after the expiration of a calendar month from the date on which it was made or, where notice of appeal is given against it, until the appeal has been decided or withdrawn.

Section 9 - Inspection of nursing homes

(1)     The Health Officer of the local supervising authority or the Civil Surgeon of the district in which a nursing home is situated or any other officer duly authorised by the local supervising authority or the Civil Surgeon, may, subject to such general or special orders as may be made by the local supervising authority, 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 purpose of nursing home, and inspect any records required to be kept in accordance with the provisions of this Act :

Provided that, nothing in this Act shall be deemed to authorise any such officer to inspect any medical record relating to any 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 section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

Section 10 - Income of local supervising authority

Any fees received under this Act shall be paid into the fund of the local supervising authority.

Section 11 - Expenses of local supervising authority

Notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment in regard to any municipal or local fund, all expenses incurred by a local supervising authority under and for the purposes of this Act and the rules and by-laws may be paid out of the municipal or local fund, as the case may be.

Section 12 - Penalty for offences under Act

Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule shall, if no other penalty is elsewhere provided in his Act or the rules for such contravention, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to [20][five thousand] rupees and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine of [21][fifty] rupees in respect of each day on which the offence continues after such conviction.

Section 13 - Offences by Corporations

Where a person committing an offence under this Act is a company or other body corporate or an association of persons (whether incorporated or not), every person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, manager, secretary, agent or other officer or person concerned with the management thereof shall, unless he proves that the offence was such committed without his knowledge or consent, be deemed to be guilty of such offence.

Section 14 - Court competent to try offences under Act

No court other than that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall take cognizance of or try any such such offence under this Act.

Section 15 - Indemnity to persons acting under this Act

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall be instituted against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act, rules or by-laws.

Section 16 - Rules

(1)     The [22][State] Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act.

(2)     Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions such rules may prescribe ?

(a)      the form of the application to be made under section 4,

(b)      the date on which an application for registration or renewal of registration to be made and the fees to be paid for such registration or renewal of registration,

[23][Provided that, the State Government may prescribed different rates of fees for registration of nursing homes, having regard to the area in which such nursing home is situated, the number of beds therein, the number of specialization offered in such nursing home;]

(c)      the form of the certificate of registration to be issued under section 5,

(d)      for any other matter for which no provision has been made in this Act, and for which provision is, in the opinion of the [24][State] Government, necessary.

(3)     The power to make rules under this section shall be subject to the condition of previous publication in the Official Gazette.

Section 17 - By-laws

(1)     The local supervising authority may make by-laws not inconsistent with this Act or rules,-

(a)      prescribing the records to be kept of the patients received into a nursing home, and in the case of the maternity home, of miscarriages, abortions or still births occurring in the nursing 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 any parent, guardian or relative;

(b)      requiring notification to be given of any death occurring in the nursing home.

(2)     Any by-law made by a local supervising authority under this Act may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable ?

(a)      with fine which may extend to fifty rupees; or

(b)      with fine which may extend to fifty rupees and in the case of a continuing contravention, with an additional fine which may extend to fifteen rupees for every day during which such contravention continues after conviction for the first such contravention; or

(c)      with fine which may extend to fifteen rupees for every day during which the contravention continues after the receipt of a notice from the local supervising authority by the person contravening the by-law requiring such person to discontinue such contravention.

(3)     No by-law made by the local supervising authority shall come into force until it has been confirmed by the [25][State] Government with or without modification,

(4)     All by-laws made under this section shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Section 18 - Saving

Nothing in this Act shall apply to ?

(i)       any nursing home carried on by Government or a local authority or by any other body of persons approved by the [26][State] Government in this behalf; and

(ii)      any asylum for lunatics or patients suffering from mental diseases, within the meaning of the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912.