MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS ACT, 1951

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS ACT, 1927. [26th December, 1951.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“appointed day” means such day as the Minister may by order appoint, and different days may be appointed for the purposes of different provisions of this Act or for the purposes of the application of any such provision to different classes of cases;

“the British Act of 1950” means the Act of the British Parliament entitled the Medical Act, 1950;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Council;

“the Principal Act” means the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927 (No. 25 of 1927);

“provisional registration” means registration by virtue of section 7 of this Act, and “provisionally registered” shall be construed accordingly.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Principal Act.

• (3) An order appointing a day for the purposes of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next twelve days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

2 Restriction on full registration.

2.—On or after the appointed day a person shall not become registered in the register, otherwise than by way of provisional registration, unless—

• (a) in the case of a person claiming registration by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 25 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 12 of this Act, he is registered in the General Register otherwise than by virtue of section 6 of the British Act of 1950, or

• (b) in the case of a person claiming registration by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 25 of the Principal Act, he was before the appointed day possessed of the qualifying diploma, or of one at least of the qualifying diplomas, by virtue of which he claims registration or it is certified under section 3 of this Act that he has had the experience specified in that section, or

• (c) in the case of a person claiming registration by virtue of subsection (1) of section 26 of the Principal Act, the Council is satisfied that he has had such experience as is specified in section 5 of this Act.

3 Certification of experience in approved hospital.

3.—(1) A certificate for the purposes of paragraph (b) of section 2 of this Act shall not be granted in respect of any person unless after passing a qualifying examination he has been engaged in employment in a resident medical capacity in one or more approved hospitals or approved institutions for such period as may be prescribed.

• (2) A person satisfying the condition specified in subsection (1) of this section may apply for a certificate under this section to the body granting the qualifying diploma by virtue of which he claims registration, and if that body are satisfied—

• (a) that during the time the applicant has been so employed as aforesaid he has been engaged for such period or minimum period as may be prescribed in medicine, and for such period or minimum period as may be prescribed in surgery, and

• (b) that his service while so employed has been satisfactory,

they shall grant, in such form as may be prescribed, a certificate that they are so satisfied.

• (3) Time during which an applicant, while employed as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, has been engaged in midwifery, not exceeding such period as may be prescribed, shall be counted for the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section either as time spent in medicine or as time spent in surgery, as the applicant may elect.

• (4) When, during any period of such employment as is referred to in subsection (1) of this section, an applicant who has been engaged in medicine has also been engaged in surgery or in midwifery or both, or an applicant who has been engaged in surgery has also been engaged in midwifery, the period shall be apportioned for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this section in such manner as may be determined by the body granting the qualifying diploma by virtue of which the applicant claims registration.

• (5) In this section—

“approved”, in relation to a hospital or institution, means approved for the time being for the purposes of this section by the Council,

references to employment in a resident medical capacity shall be construed as references to employment in the practice of medicine, surgery or midwifery, where the person in question is resident in the hospital or institution where he is employed or conveniently near thereto, and is by the terms of his employment required to be so resident.

• (6) In relation to a person claiming registration by virtue of a diploma granted on passing a qualifying examination held by two or more bodies jointly, the references in this section to the body granting the qualifying diploma shall be construed as references to the bodies by whom the qualifying examination was held, acting jointly.

• (7) Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, a person holding two or more qualifying diplomas shall be treated for the purposes of this section as claiming registration by virtue of such one of those diplomas as he may choose.

4 Special provisions as to employment in health centres.

4.—(1) For the purposes of section 3 of this Act, “institution” includes a health centre if, and only if, either—

• (a) it is a health centre under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 (No. 27 of 1939), or the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947), or

• (b) it is a health centre such as is referred to in subsection (1) of section 3 of the British Act of 1950

• (2) Employment in such a centre shall not be treated as employment for the purposes of section 3 of this Act, unless—

• (a) in the case of a centre under the Public Assistance Act, 1939, or the Health Act, 1947, it is either employment in the provision of general medical services or employment in the provision of out-patient services, and

• (b) in the case of a centre such as is referred to in subsection (1) of section 3 of the British Act of 1950, it is either of the employments specified in subsection (2) of that section.

5 Experience required for registration (foreign practitioners.)

5.—The matters as to which the Council must be satisfied for the purposes of paragraph (c) of section 2 of this Act are—

• (a) that the person claiming registration has been employed as mentioned in subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act and has satisfied the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) thereof, or

• (b) that the said person has rendered satisfactory service in an appointment or appointments (whether within or outside the State) such as in the opinion of the Council confer experience of the practice of medicine and surgery, or medicine, surgery and midwifery, not less extensive than that required for a certificate under section 3 of this Act, or

• (c) that the said person has otherwise acquired such experience as aforesaid.

6 Replacement, in case of physical disability, of surgical experience by additional medical experience.

6.—(1) Where on an application in that behalf a person satisfies the Council that, by reason of lasting physical disability, he will be or has been prevented from embarking on, or completing, any period of experience of the practice of surgery or midwifery required for the purposes of any of the foregoing provisions of this Act, the Council may if it thinks fit direct that the applicant may for those purposes count in lieu thereof experience of the practice of medicine (in addition to what would otherwise be required in his case by the said provisions) acquired in the like manner and for the like period or, as the case may be, for so much of that period as will have remained uncompleted.

• (2) Where the Council gives a direction under this section, it shall give notice of the direction to the body granting the qualifying diploma to the person to whom the direction relates.

• (3) Subsections (6) and (7) of section 3 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section.

7 Provisional registration.

7.—(1) The following provisions shall have effect for enabling persons to be employed as mentioned in subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act.

• (2) Where a person would, apart from this Act, be entitled to be registered in the register by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 25 or subsection (1) of section 26 of the Principal Act, he shall be entitled on payment of the prescribed fee to be registered in the register provisionally.

• (3) Where a person is the holder of a qualifying diploma (as defined by subsection (1) of section 36 of the British Act of 1950) granted by a university or other corporation having its seat in the United Kingdom and he is registered by virtue of section 6 of the British Act of 1950, he shall be entitled, without payment of any fee, to be registered in the register provisionally.

8 Effect of provisional registration, etc.

8.—(1) Persons provisionally registered shall be deemed to be registered in the register so far as is necessary—

• (a) to enable them to be employed as mentioned in subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act,

• (b) in order that the provisions of this Act relating expressly to provisional registration may be applicable in their case,

• (c) in order that the following provisions of the Principal Act, namely, sections 15, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33 and subsection (2) of section 37, may be applicable in their case,

• (d) for the purposes of the Juries Act, 1927 (No. 23 of 1927), and

• (e) for the purpose of any such enactment or instrument, or such other purposes, as the Minister may by order direct,

but not further.

• (2) Every person who, for the purpose of being provisionally registered, makes or procures or causes to be made or procured or aids or abets the making or procuring of any representation which to his knowledge is false or fraudulent shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to imprisonment for any term not exceeding twelve months.

• (3) Every person who wilfully and falsely represents himself to be or holds himself out as being a person who is provisionally registered or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is so registered shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds.

• (4) The references in sections 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 and 33 of the Principal Act to a person registered in the register shall be construed as including references to a person provisionally registered.

• (5) The Council shall so exercise its powers of making regulations under section 19 of the Principal Act as to secure that persons provisionally registered shall be registered in a separate part of the register, and that on a person's becoming registered otherwise than provisionally his name shall be removed from the separate part of the register.

• (6) The Council may, if it thinks fit, in lieu of or in addition to, including the separate part of the register referred to in sub section (5) of this section in the annual publication of the Medical Register of Ireland, cause a list of persons provisionally registered to be prepared at least twice in each year.

• (7) A list under subsection (6) of this section shall be prepared in the prescribed form and shall be compiled by reference to a date directed by the Council and specified in the list and the Council shall cause copies of the list to be available for purchase by any person on payment of the prescribed fee.

• (8) A copy purporting to be a copy referred to in subsection (7) of this section which is for the time being the latest such copy shall be evidence in any court until the contrary is proved that every person whose name is entered therein is provisionally registered in accordance with this Act and that any person whose name is not entered therein is not so registered.

• (9) A certificate purporting to be signed by the registrar and to certify that on a specified day or days or during the whole of a specified period a particular person was duly provisionally registered or that on a specified day or days or during the whole of a specified period a particular person was not provisionally registered or that on a specified day the name of a particular person was erased from the separate part of the register referred to in subsection (5) of this section shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was the registrar and notwithstanding any discrepancy between the certificate and any list under subsection (6) of this section or copy thereof, be conclusive evidence of the matters certified by the certificate.

• (10) The form and mode of application for provisional registration and the evidence to be given by an applicant for provisional registration of his title to be so registered shall be such as may be prescribed.

9 Appointment of visitors of medical schools.

9.—(1) The Council may appoint persons, not being members of the Council, to visit places where instruction is given to medical students in connection with any course of study under the direction of any body or college mentioned in the Second Schedule to the Principal Act.

• (2) It shall be the duty of visitors appointed under this section to report to the Council as to the sufficiency of the instruction given in the places which they visit and as to any other matters relating to such instruction which may be specified by the Council either generally or in any particular case, but no visitor shall interfere with the giving of any instruction.

• (3) On the receipt of any report of a visitor under this section, the Council shall send a copy of the report to the body or college in question, and on receipt of any such copy the body or college may, within such period (not being less than one month) as the Council may have specified at the time it sent the copy of the report, make to the Council observations on the report or objections thereto.

• (4) As soon as may be after the expiration of the period specified under subsection (3) of this section, the Council shall send a copy of any such report as is therein referred to and of any observations thereon or objections thereto duly made, together with the Council's comments on the report and on any such observations or objections, to the Minister.

• (5) The Council may pay to visitors appointed under this section such remuneration and expenses as the Council, with the approval of the Minister, may determine.

10 Regulations.

10.—The Council may, with the consent of the Minister, make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

11 Expenses of the Council.

11.—All expenses incurred by the Council in the execution of this Act shall be defrayed by the Council out of its own moneys.

12 Amendment of Section 25 of Principal Act.

12.—The references, in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 25 of the Principal Act and in Article 4 of the Agreement set out in the First Schedule to the Principal Act, to a person who is registered in the General Register shall be construed as not including a person whose name and address are entered in a separate list which is contained in the General Register in pursuance of section 14 of the Medical Act, 1886, as amended by the British Act of 1950.

13 Short title and collective citation.

13.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Medical Practitioners Act, 1951.

• (2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Medical Practitioners Acts, 1927 and 1951.