Regulations governing private hospitals and …

1 (u pdate d) REGULATIO NS GO VERNING private HO S PITALS AND UNATTAC HED O P ER A TI N G . TH EA TR E U N I TS Published under Government Notice No. R. 158 of 1 February 1980 As am e n de d by: Government Notice No. of 3 April 1980 Government Notice No. R. 2687 of 16 November 1990 Government Notice No. of 19 March 1993 The Minister of Health has, by virtue of the powers vested in him by section 44 of the Health Act, 1977 (Act 63 of 1971), made t he following regulat ions: Definitions 1. For t he purposes of t hese regulat ions. unless t he cont ext ot herwise indicat es- approved means approved by the Head of Department. ce n tral s te ri l e s u ppl y de partm e n t means a room or rooms in which instruments, dressings, basins, containers, water and other items which are required to be sterile for t he t reat ment of pat ient s are st erilised, and are for t his purpose received, cleaned, packed, st erilised and st ored; demarcated area means an area which devides sterile from non-sterile areas; Director means the Chief Executive officer responsible for hospital services of the provincial administration of a province within which a particular private hospital or unat t ached operat ing-t heat re unit is or is t o be sit uat ed; Head of Department means t he Head of t he Depart ment of Healt h Services and Welfare, Administration: House of Assembly.

2 I nspe cti ng offi ce r means an officer as defined in sect ion 1 of t he Public Servants Act, 1957 (Act 54 of 1957), or an officer or employee employed in terms of a Provincial Ordinance in a Provincial Hospit al Service, aut horised in writ ing by t he Secret ary t o carry out an inspect ion; lighted in relat ion t o any room, means t hat such room is effect ively lighted by means of an approved art ificial light ing syst em or t hat t he t ot al unobst ruct ed window area is equivalent to not less than 15 per cent of the floor area of such room; Minister means t he Minist er of Healt h Services, Welfare and Housing: House of Assembly; operating -theatre means a room in which a regist ered medical pract it ioner or dentist carries out operations; 2 operating theatre-unit means a place where surgical act ivit ies are carried out and in which provision is made for t hose facilit ies as set fort h in t hese regulat ions; ove rcrowde d , in relat ion t o any room of accommodat ion, means t hat there is less than 4m2 of floor area and less t han 12m2 of air space for each person working or accommodat ed in such room or accommodat ion and less t han half of t his area and space for each such person under 10 years of age: Provided t hat t he floor area and air space of a single room shall not be less than 10m2 and 30m2 respect ively; pre s cri be d proce du re s means t he surgical operat ions and medical procedures listed in Annexure A.

3 private hospital m e a n s a n y h o sp i t a l o r a n y o t h e r i n st i t ut i o n , building or place at which provision is made for t he t reat ment and care of cases requiring medical or surgical t reat ment and nursing care, but excluding - (a) a hospit al or any such inst it ut ion, building or place conduct ed by t he St at e, a provincial administration, local authority, private hospital authority, hospital board or any other public body; (b) any consu1ting room, surgery or dispensary of a medical practitioner or dentist which does not provide any bed accommodat ion; (c) an unat t ached operat ing-t heat re unit ; and (d) a hospit al or ot her inst it ut ion licensed for t he recept ion and detention of mentally ill persons in t erms of sect ion 46 of t he Ment al Healt h Act , 1973 (Act No. 18 of 1973); and (e) an inst it ut ion, building or place for t he t reat ment or nursing care of aged people attached to an old age home as defined in the Aged Persons Act, 1967 (Act No.)

4 81 of 1967), or a housing development scheme as defined in the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act, 1988 (Act No. 65 of 1988); propri e tor means t he person, or t he nominee in t he case of a company or an association of persons (whether corporate or incorporate), who establishes, extends, conducts or maintains a private hospital or unattached operating theatre-unit; recovery room or area means t hat sect ion of an operat ing t heat re-unit specially set aside and fully equipped, for t he immediat e post -operat ive recovery, resuscit at ion, nursing and special care of pat ient s unt il such t ime as such pat ient s are considered t o have recovered sufficiently to be safely removed from the aforementioned section; sluice room m ean s a r o o m wh er e bed p an s, ur in als, sp ut um m ugs an d sim ilar containers are kept and can be empt ied, washed out , disinfect ed and st ored, and where soiled linen, dressings and similar it ems can be deposit ed prior t o removal: treatment means any diagnost ic or t herapeut ic procedure carried out for surgical.

5 Medical, obst et rical or dent al purposes and includes t he provision of t he necessary nursing services, accommodat ion, equipment and ancillary facilit ies, and treat , treating and treated have corresponding meanings; unattached operating theatre unit means an operating -theatre unit not owned or managed by the State, a provincial administration, a local authority, a private hospital authority, a hospital board or any other public body and not attached to a hospital or nursing home, and where a patient operated on in such operating -theatre unit may remain 3 for a period not exceeding 12 hours, reckoned from the time he enters the unit im m ediat ely bef o r e bein g o p er at ed o n.

6 An d ventilated , in relation to any room, means that such room is ventilated by an effective artificial ventilation system or by one or more windows opening direct to the outer air and capable of opening wholly or part ly, and so placed as t o make possible an effective through draught or cross-ventilation. Any other expression in these Regulations has the same meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as that assigned to it in the Health Act, 1977 (Act 63 of 1977). Registration 2. Subject to the provisions of regulation 8, no person shall erect, establish, extend, conduct, maintain, manage, control or render any service in a private hospital or an unattached operating -theatre unit or permit or arrange for treatment to be provided therein unless such private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit or proposed private hospital or unat t ached operat ing-t heat re unit has been regist ered in accordance wit h the provisions of t hese regulat ions and t he I propriet or is in possession of a valid cert ificat e of registration issued t o him in respect t hereof by t he Head of Depart ment.

7 3. Each such certificate of registration issued in terms of regulation 14(1) or 14(3) shall be effect ive from t he dat e of issue up t o and including t he next succeeding 31st day of December, when it shall lapse, or for such port ion of t he said period as may be specified in t he cert ificat e of regist rat ion. An applicat ion for t he renewal of such cert ificat e of regist rat ion shall be made in accordance wit h regulat ion 11, not less t han 90 days before t he dat e of expiry: Provided t hat whenever such regist rat ion cert ificat e is issued after 30 Se p t e m be r , suc h r e gi st r a t i o n c e r t i f i c a t e sh a l l be i ssue d f o r a p e r i o d up t o 3 1 December of t he following year. 4. A private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit shall not be registered as such and no cert ificat e of regist rat ion shall be issued in respect t hereof, unless- (1) the premises on which a private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit is or is t o be co n duct ed an d t h e equip m en t wh ich is used o r is in t en ded f o r use in such privat e hospit al or unat t ached operat ing-t heat re unit are suit able and adequate for the purposes of the said private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit; ( 2 ) t h e p r i v a t e h o sp i t a l o r un a t t a c h e d o p e r a t i n g- t h e a t r e un i t i s n o t m a n a ge d o r will not be managed in a manner which will be det riment al t o t he physical, mental or moral welfare of t he pat ient s or st aff.

8 (3) t he st aff of t he privat e hospit al or unat t ached operat ing-t heatre unit comply with, or will comply wit h, accept ed st andards for t he purposes of such hospital or unit; (4) the person in charge of such private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit is or will be regist ered as a medical pract it ioner or, in t he case of an exclusively dent al service, a dent ist , in t erms of t he Medical, Dent al and Supplement ary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act 56 of 1974), or in the case of a general medical nursing service or a midwifery service, is or will be regist ered in t erms of the Nursing Act, 1978 (Act 50 of 1978), as a registered nurse or midwife, respect ively; (5) a nurse registered in terms of the Nursing Act, 1978 (Act 50 of 1978), is or will be in charge of t he nursing service if t he person in charge is a regist ered medical 4 p r act it io n er o r den t ist as descr ibed in subr egulat io n ( 4 ) ; an d (6) such registration is in the public interest.

9 5. (1) In his application the proprietor shall give a description of the premises and also furnish particulars regarding their location, the nature of the treatment to be rendered there, the population groups of the staff at t ached t o t he private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit and the population groups that will make use of the private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit, and shall furnish any further information required by the Head of Department in order to consider the application. (2) The proprietor shall immediately report to the Head of Department in writing any ch an ge in t h e p ar t icular s f ur n ish ed by h im in t er m s o f subr egulat io n ( 1 ) or indi-cat ed on t he current cert ificat e of regist rat ion issued in t erms of regulation 12 of t hese regulat ions. 6. The proprietor of a registered private hospital shall give not less than three months not ice in writ ing of t he int ended closure of such hospit al t o t he Head of Department, the Direct or, pat ient s and st aff: Provided t hat , in except ional circumst ances, t he Head of Department may authorise a shorter period of notice.

10 Establishment of private hospitals and unattached operating -theatre units 7. (1) No person shall erect, alter, equip or in any other way prepare any premises for use as a privat e hospit al or unat t ached operat ing-t heat re unit wit hout t he prior approval in writing of the Head of Department. (2) (i) Any person intending to establish a private hospital or an unattached operating -theatre unit shall first obtain permission in writing from the Head of Department, who, after consultation with the Director, shall sat isfy himself as t o t he necessit y or ot herwise for such a private hospital or unattached operating -theatre unit before granting or refusing permission. (ii) Having obtained such permission, the applicant shall complete Form I (Annexure B) and submit plans for approval by the Head of Department, t oget her wit h t he necessary informat ion, and shall supply any additional information which the Head of Department may require.