Medical
Practitioners (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1960[1]
A LAW to regulate the practice of
medicine in Jersey
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Definitions
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires –
“Commission” means the Health and Social Care Commission
established by Article 35 of the Regulation of Care (Jersey)
Law 2014;
“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Social
Services;
“prescribed” means prescribed by Order of the Chief Minister;
“register” means the register kept under Article 3(1);
“registered” means registered as a medical practitioner
under this Law;
“registration fee” means the registration fee
determined under Article 5(3).[2]
(2) For the purposes of
this Law, the practice of medicine shall be deemed to include the performance
of any such operation and the giving of any such treatment, advice or
attendance as is usually performed or given by medical practitioners.
(3) [3]
(4) [4]
2 Restrictions
on practice of medicine[5]
(1) A
person shall not –
(a) represent
himself or herself as being registered unless he or she is registered and his
or her registration is not suspended;
(b) represent
himself or herself as having any qualification or authority to practise as a
medical practitioner that is a qualification or authority prescribed under
Article 5A(1)(a) as a requirement for registration, unless he or she has
such qualification or authority and, in the case of authority to practise, the
authority is not suspended;
(c) use
the title “registered medical practitioner” unless he or she is
registered and his or her registration is not suspended;
(d) represent
himself or herself as having a specialist title or specialization
unless –
(i) he or she is
permitted, by a qualification or authority to practise as a medical
practitioner conferred in another country or territory, being a qualification
or authority prescribed under Article 5A(1)(a) as a requirement for
registration, to hold himself or herself out, in that country or territory, as
having that specialist title or specialization, and
(ii) the
permission is not suspended in that country or territory;
(e) practise
medicine unless he or she is registered and his or her registration is not suspended;
or
(f) practise
medicine otherwise than in accordance with the conditions (if any) imposed on his
or her registration.
(2) A
person who contravenes paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and liable to
a fine.[6]
3 Register[7]
(1) The Commission shall keep
a register of persons registered as medical practitioners.[8]
(2) Upon registering a
person as a medical practitioner, the Commission shall enter in the register
the prescribed information in respect of the person.[9]
(3) The Commission shall remove
from the register the name of a person –
(a) who
has died;
(b) who
has requested the cancellation of his or her registration under Article 8;
or
(c) whose
registration has been cancelled under Article 9.[10]
4 List
of registered medical practitioners to be kept[11]
The Commission shall ensure that a list of the names of registered medical
practitioners, showing such information regarding their qualification for
registration as may be prescribed, is published or made available for viewing
at all reasonable times by members of the public, without charge, at a place or
in a manner determined by the Commission.[12]
5 Application
for registration as a medical practitioner[13]
(1) A person may apply to
the Commission for registration under this Law as a medical practitioner.[14]
(2) An application for
registration as a medical practitioner shall –
(a) contain
the prescribed particulars; and
(b) be
accompanied by –
(i) the prescribed
proof that the applicant fulfils the requirements prescribed under Article 5A(1)(a),
and
(ii) the
registration fee.
(3) The Commission may
determine a registration fee for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b)(ii).[15]
5A Registration[16]
(1) The Commission shall,
after receiving an application for registration that complies with the
requirements of Article 5(2), register the applicant as a medical
practitioner if the Commission is satisfied that –
(a) the
applicant fulfils the prescribed requirements for registration; and
(b) the
application is not made within a period specified in a direction under Article 9(3)
that is in force in relation to the applicant.[17]
(2) The Commission shall,
before refusing to register an applicant as a medical practitioner by reason of
the application not complying with the requirements of Article 5(2), give
the applicant an opportunity to make his or her application compliant with the
requirements of that provision.[18]
(3) The Commission shall
not register an applicant as a medical practitioner if the Commission is not
satisfied as to the matters described in sub-paragraph (a) and (b) of paragraph (1).[19]
(4) The Commission shall,
upon refusing an application for registration –
(a) serve
notice on the applicant of his or her decision to refuse the application and
the reasons for it; and
(b) refund
the registration fee paid by the applicant.[20]
5B Conditions of
registration[21]
(1) The Commission may, if it
she thinks it necessary to do so –
(a) to
protect members of the public;
(b) because
it is otherwise in the public interest; or
(c) in
the interests of the person,
impose a condition on the registration of a person as a medical
practitioner.[22]
(2) A condition may be
imposed under paragraph (1) at the time of, or after, registration.
(3) A condition imposed
under paragraph (1) shall remain in force for the period specified in the
registration of the person as the period for which the condition shall remain
in force.
(4) A period specified
under paragraph (3) shall not exceed 18 months.
(5) The Commission may, on
the expiry of the period specified under paragraph (3), make a further
decision under paragraph (1) to impose the condition.[23]
(6) Before the Commission
makes a decision to impose a condition under paragraph (1), the Commission
shall give the person the opportunity to make representations.[24]
(7) The Commission shall
impose any mandatory condition of registration that is prescribed.[25]
(8) The Commission shall
serve notice on the practitioner of any condition imposed in the
practitioner’s case, the reasons for its imposition and, in the case of a
condition imposed under paragraph (1), the period for which it shall
remain in force.[26]
5C Certificate of
registration[27]
(1) The Commission shall
issue a certificate of registration to a person who is registered as a medical
practitioner.[28]
(2) The Commission may
issue a further certificate of registration to a person who is registered as a medical
practitioner if the Commission is satisfied that the certificate of
registration formerly issued to the person has been lost, stolen or damaged.[29]
5D Requirement to make
return[30]
A registered medical practitioner shall provide to the Commission,
at such intervals and by such dates as may be prescribed, a return in such form
and containing such information as may be prescribed.[31]
6 Restriction on use of practitioners’ titles
If any person wilfully and falsely pretends to be or takes or uses
the name or title of physician, doctor of medicine, licentiate in medicine and
surgery, bachelor of medicine, surgeon, general practitioner or apothecary, or
any name, title, addition or description implying that he or she is a registered medical
practitioner, or that he or she is recognized by law as a physician or surgeon or licentiate in
medicine and surgery or a practitioner in medicine or an apothecary, he or she shall be liable to a fine.[32]
7 Penalty for abuse of certificates or fraudulently obtaining
registration
If any person –
(a) with intent to deceive,
forges or uses, or lends to or allows to be used by any other person, a
certificate or other document that is required, under Article 5(2)(b), to
accompany an application for registration, or makes or has in his or her
possession any certificate or document so closely resembling the required
certificate or document as to be calculated to deceive; or
(b) obtains or attempts to
obtain registration as a medical practitioner in pursuance of this Law by
assuming the name or qualifications of another person,
he or she shall be liable in respect of each offence to a fine or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.[33]
8 Request
for cancellation of registration[34]
(1) A person registered as
a medical practitioner may, at any time, request the Commission to cancel the
person’s registration.[35]
(2) A request under
paragraph (1) shall be made in writing.
(3) The Commission shall,
upon receiving a request under paragraph (1), cancel the person’s
registration.[36]
9 Cancellation
of registration otherwise than on request[37]
(1) The Commission shall
cancel a person’s registration as a medical practitioner if –
(a) the
person ceases to fulfil the requirements for registration prescribed under
Article 5A(1)(a);
(b) the person’s
registration under this Law was obtained by fraudulent means; or
(c) the
person has not, within 60 days of having been requested to do so by the Commission,
by notice in writing, provided to the Commission the return required by Article 5D.[38]
(2) The Commission may
cancel a person’s registration as a medical practitioner if the person –
(a) is
convicted (whether or not in Jersey) of an offence of a kind that, in the
opinion of the Commission, makes the person unfit to be a medical practitioner;
(b) has
failed to comply with a condition imposed under Article 5B(1) or (7) on his
or her registration;
(c) is
found by the Commission to have engaged in behaviour that constituted a
contravention of, or a failure to comply with, any term or condition of any
authority to practise as a medical practitioner by virtue of which authority
the person fulfils the requirements for registration prescribed under Article 5A(1)(a);
or
(d) is
found by the Commission to have engaged in conduct of a kind that, in the
opinion of the Commission, makes the person unfit to be a medical practitioner.[39]
(3) The Commission may, if it
has cancelled a person’s registration under paragraph (1)(b) or (2),
direct that the person shall not be registered under Article 5A within a
period, not exceeding 5 years, specified by the Commission in the direction.[40]
(4) The Commission shall,
before cancelling a person’s registration under paragraph (1) or
(2), give the person an opportunity to make representations.[41]
(5) The Commission shall
serve on a person whose registration is cancelled under this Article notice of –
(a) its
decision to cancel the person’s registration;
(b) its
reasons for the decision; and
(c) the
period, if any, during which, in accordance with a direction under paragraph (3),
the person shall not be registered under Article 5A.[42]
(6) The cancellation of a
person’s registration under this Article takes effect on the service on
the person under paragraph (5) of the notice of the cancellation.
(7) If an appeal is lodged
under Article 10B against the cancellation of a person’s
registration, the Commission shall restore the person’s registration –
(a) until
the determination of the appeal under Article 10B(4)(a) or (c); or
(b) where
the appeal is determined by referring the matter back to the Commission under Article 10B(4)(b),
until the Commission has dealt with the referred matter.[43]
(8) Paragraph (7) does
not apply if –
(a) in
the opinion of the Commission, the grounds on which the registration was
cancelled are so serious that the cancellation should continue in effect –
(i) until the appeal
in relation to it is determined under Article 10B(4)(a) or (c), or
(ii) where
the appeal is determined by referring the matter back to the Commission under Article 10B(4)(b),
until the Commission has dealt with the referred matter; and
(b) the
notice of cancellation under paragraph (5) specifies that sub-paragraph (a)
of this paragraph applies in relation to the cancellation.[44]
10 Suspension[45]
(1) The Commission
shall –
(a) suspend
a person’s registration as a medical practitioner upon becoming aware
that the authority to practise by virtue of which the person fulfils the
requirements for registration prescribed under Article 5A(1)(a) has been
suspended; and
(b) end a
person’s suspension upon becoming aware that the person’s authority
to practise, described in sub-paragraph (a), is no longer suspended.[46]
(2) If the Commission is
satisfied that there may be grounds for cancellation of a person’s
registration as a medical practitioner and that the circumstances are such
that, while enquiries are conducted into those grounds, the person should not
practise as a medical practitioner, the Commission may suspend the
person’s registration for a period not exceeding 3 months.[47]
(3) The Commission may
extend a suspension under paragraph (2) on one or more occasions for, on each
occasion, a period not exceeding 3 months.[48]
(4) The Commission shall
serve on a person whose registration is suspended, or whose suspension is
extended, notice of –
(a) its
decision to suspend, or extend the suspension of, the person’s
registration;
(b) its
reasons for the decision; and
(c) the
period for which the suspension has effect.[49]
(5) A period of suspension
commences on the service on the person, under paragraph (4), of the notice
of suspension.
10A Application for amendment of
direction[50]
(1) A person whose
registration is cancelled under Article 9 may apply to the Commission to
amend a direction given under Article 9(3) in relation to the person.[51]
(2) The Commission may,
after receiving an application under paragraph (1) from a person, amend a direction
given under Article 9(3) in relation to the person.[52]
(3) The Commission shall serve
on a person notice of its decision in relation to an application by the person
under paragraph (1) and its reasons for the decision.[53]
10B Appeals[54]
(1) A person may appeal to
the Royal Court against a decision of the Commission to –
(a) refuse
under Article 5A to register the person;
(b) impose
under Article 5B(1) a condition on the registration of the person;
(c) cancel
under Article 9 the person’s registration;
(d) give
a direction under Article 9(3) in relation to the person;
(e) suspend,
or continue the suspension of, the person’s registration under Article 10;
or
(f) refuse,
under Article 10A, to amend a direction given in respect of the person or
to amend the direction in terms other than those sought by the person.[55]
(2) An appeal under this
Article against a decision may only be made by a person within 28 days
after notice of the decision is served on the person, unless the Royal Court
determines that the period should be extended.
(3) If the Commission has
not, within the 60 day period beginning on the day after an application is
made to the Commission under Article 5A or 10A by a person, served a
notice under Article 5A(4) or 10A(3), as the case requires, in relation to
the application, the Commission shall be taken for the purposes of this Article –
(a) to
have decided to refuse the application; and
(b) to
have served notice of the decision on the person on the day after the end of
that period.[56]
(4) The Royal Court may
determine an appeal under this Article by –
(a) confirming
the decision to which the appeal relates;
(b) quashing
the decision to which the appeal relates and referring the matter back to the Commission for its decision in
accordance with the law; or
(c) making
any decision that the Commission could have made under Article 5A, 5B(1), 9, 10 or 10A, as the
case may be.[57]
(5) The Royal Court may
make the additional orders it thinks appropriate, including ancillary orders
and orders as to costs.
10C Fitness to practise[58]
(1) The Minister may by
Order, for the purpose of facilitating the continuance, in another country or
territory, of any authority to practise by virtue of which medical
practitioners are registered, make arrangements for the evaluation of the
fitness to practise of all or any class of registered medical practitioners.
(2) Before making an Order
under this Article, the Minister shall consult with such bodies or
organizations in Jersey as appear to the Minister to be representative of any
class of registered medical practitioners to which the Order would apply.
(3) An Order made under
paragraph (1) may in particular, but not by way of limitation –
(a) classify
registered medical practitioners for the purposes of the arrangements described
in paragraph (1);
(b) provide
for the appointment of one or more persons to direct the arrangements described
in paragraph (1) in relation to all or any class of registered medical
practitioners and specify the name by which a person appointed shall be known;
(c) specify
the responsibilities of a person appointed in relation to the evaluation of the
fitness to practise of a class of registered medical practitioners;
(d) require
a person appointed to co-operate with any authority or organization outside
Jersey that has responsibility for the issuing, suspension or withdrawal of any
authority to practise by virtue of which a person is registered, or eligible to
be registered, in Jersey;
(e) require
a person appointed to have regard to guidance issued by a body specified in the
Order; and
(f) confer
on a person appointed such powers as are appropriate to enable that person to
discharge the responsibilities imposed on him or her by the Order.
(4) An Order made under
paragraph (1) may –
(a) create
offences punishable by a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale; and
(b) create
other procedures or apply, with modifications, existing procedures in other
enactments for enforcing any provision of the Order.[59]
(5) In particular, an Order
made under paragraph (1) may, pursuant paragraph (4)(b), apply
Article 30 of the Health Insurance (Jersey)
Law 1967, with modifications, for the purposes of the Order.
(6) An Order made under
paragraph (1) may, subject to paragraphs (7) to (11) –
(a) enable
a person appointed to require another person to supply information or produce
any document which appears relevant to the discharge of the responsibilities of
the person appointed; and
(b) enable
a person appointed to apply to the Royal Court for an order requiring the
information to be supplied or the document produced.
(7) An Order made under
paragraph (1) shall not confer any power for a person appointed to require
another person to supply information or produce any document, the supply or
production of which is prohibited by any enactment.
(8) However, if a
prohibition in another enactment operates only because information that is
capable of identifying an individual is contained in the document, or forms
part of the information, referred to in paragraph (6), the Order may
empower a person appointed to require that the information be put into such a
form as to prevent identification of the individual.
(9) An Order made under
paragraph (1) may further provide that, for the purpose of determining
whether a disclosure is not prohibited, by reason that it is permitted by
Article 63 of the Data Protection (Jersey)
Law 2018, there shall be an assumption that the disclosure is required by
the Order.[60]
(10) An Order made under paragraph (1)
shall not confer any power for a person appointed to require another person to
supply information or produce a document that the person could not be compelled
to supply or produce in civil proceedings before the Royal Court.
(11) An Order made under paragraph (1)
that confers power for a person appointed to require another person to supply
information or produce a document –
(a) shall –
(i) specify the uses
to which the information or documents so obtained may be put, and
(ii) restrict
the persons to whom the information or documents so obtained may be released;
and
(b) may,
subject to sub-paragraph (a), require a person appointed to release the
information or documents in such circumstances, for such purposes and to such
persons, as are specified in the Order.
(12) A reference in this Article
to a person appointed is a reference to a person appointed for the purposes
described in paragraph (3)(b).
11 Saving for employment in hospitals[61]
(1) Notwithstanding the
provisions of this Law, a person may be employed in a resident medical capacity
in a hospital under the administration of the Minister for Health and Social
Services if he or she satisfies such requirements and complies with such
conditions as may be prescribed for the purposes of this Article.[62]
(2) The Minister for Health
and Social Services shall enter, in a list to be kept for that purpose, the
name of any person employed by virtue of paragraph (1) and, on his or her
ceasing to be so employed, his or her name shall be removed from the list.
(3) The list kept in
pursuance of paragraph (2) shall be available for inspection at all
reasonable times.
(4) A person who is
employed by virtue of paragraph (1) shall, in relation to that employment
and to things done or omitted in the course thereof, be treated as registered
under this Law as a medical practitioner, but in relation to all other matters
shall be treated as not so registered.
(5) In this Article,
“employed in a resident medical capacity” means employed in the
practice of medicine, surgery or midwifery where the person employed is
resident in the hospital where he or she is employed or conveniently near
thereto and is by the terms of his or her employment required to be so
resident.
12 Saving
Nothing in this Law shall extend, or be construed to extend, to
prejudice or in any way to affect –
(a) the occupation of a
medical practitioner as a member of the Armed Forces of the Crown;
(b) the giving of advice by
a medical practitioner resident outside Jersey who has been called into
consultation by a registered medical practitioner; or
(c) the lawful occupation,
trade or business of a pharmaceutical chemist or a dentist so far as the same
extends to selling, compounding or dispensing medicines.
12A Orders[63]
The Chief Minister may, by Order –
(a) prescribe any matter
that shall or may be prescribed under this Law;
(b) make provision as to
the documents that may be admitted in proceedings under this Law as proof that
a person –
(i) fulfils
the prescribed requirements for registration under Article 5A, or
(ii) is
permitted to hold himself or herself out as having a specialist title or
specialization;
(c) make provision as to
the manner in which any notice to be served under this Law shall or may be
served; and
(d) make transitional
provisions and savings for the purposes of the commencement of any amendment to
this Law.
13 Repeal and consequential amendment
(1) The
Loi (1939) sur l’exercice de la Médicine
et de la Chirurgie dans cette Ile is hereby repealed.
(2) In
the case of any contravention of Article 1(1) of the Loi (1919) sur le traitement des maladies vénériennes, the penalties to be applicable shall be those prescribed by the
said Article 1 to the exclusion of that prescribed by Article 2 of
this Law.
14 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Medical Practitioners (Registration)
(Jersey) Law 1960.