Nurses and Midwives Act 1999

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Coming into Force: 31 July 2012
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Act 46 of 1999)
• Enactment Date: 01 May 2000
• Record Number: Cap. 209
• Published date: 31 July 2012

Nurses and Midwives Act

(CHAPTER 209)

(Original Enactment: Act 46 of 1999)

REVISED EDITION 2012

(31st July 2012)

An Act to establish the Singapore Nursing Board, to provide for the registration and enrolment of nurses, the registration of midwives and the certification of Advanced Practice Nurses and for matters connected therewith. [15/2005]

[1st May 2000]

PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Nurses and Midwives Act. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “accredited” means accredited by the Board; “Advanced Practice Nurse” means a registered nurse who is certified as an Advanced Practice Nurse under section 32; “appointed member” means a member appointed under section 3(2)(d); “Board” means the Singapore Nursing Board established under section 3; “certificate of enrolment” means a certificate of enrolment granted under section 17; “certificate of registration” means a certificate of registration granted under section 17; “Complaints Committee” means a Complaints Committee appointed under section 37; “enrolled” means enrolled under section 14, 15 or 16, and “enrol”, “enrolling” and “enrolment” have corresponding meanings; “enrolled nurse” means a person who is enrolled as an enrolled nurse, and includes a person who is deemed to be enrolled as an enrolled nurse under section 46(2); “medical practitioner” means a person registered under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174); “member” means a member of the Board; “practising certificate” means a practising certificate issued by the Board under section 18; “Register” means the Register of Nurses or Register of Midwives kept under section 13, as the case may be, or both the Register of Nurses and the Register of Midwives; “registered” means registered under section 14, 15 or 16, and “register”, “registering” and “registration” have corresponding meanings; “registered midwife” means a person who is registered as a registered midwife, and includes a person who is deemed to be registered as a registered midwife under section 46(3); “registered nurse” means a person who is registered as a registered nurse, and includes a person who is deemed to be registered as a registered nurse under section 46(1); “Registrar” means the Registrar of the Board, and includes any individual acting in that capacity; [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] “Roll” means the Roll of Nurses kept under section 13. [15/2005]

PART II SINGAPORE NURSING BOARD Establishment and membership of Board 3.—(1) There shall be established a body, to be known as the Singapore Nursing Board, which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. (2) The Board shall consist of the following members: (a) the Director of Medical Services or his representative; (b) the Director-General of Education or his representative; (c) the Chief Nursing Officer; and (d) 14 other members to be appointed by the Minister, of whom at least — (i) 9 shall be registered or enrolled nurses with at least 5 years’ experience in the practice of nursing; and (ii) 2 shall be registered midwives with at least 5 years’ experience in the practice of midwifery. [15/2005] (3) Only a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore may be appointed as a member. (4) An appointed member shall hold office for a term of 3 years or such shorter period as the Minister may in any case determine, and shall be eligible for reappointment at the expiration of his term of office. Removal of appointed member from office 4. The Minister may remove an appointed member from office if he — (a) is an undischarged bankrupt; (b) has been found guilty in Singapore or elsewhere of professional misconduct; (c) has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of an offence involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude; (d) is unable to satisfactorily carry out the duties of his office because of a mental or physical disability; or (e) is absent without leave of the Board from 3 consecutive meetings of the Board or any of its committees. Vacancy in Board 5.—(1) The office of an appointed member shall become vacant if — (a) he dies; (b) his term of office expires; (c) he resigns by written notice to the Minister; (d) he ceases to satisfy the qualifications referred to in section 3 by virtue of which he was eligible for appointment; or (e) he is removed from office under section 4. (2) Upon the office of an appointed member becoming vacant, the Minister shall appoint a person to the vacant office, and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term for which his predecessor would have held office if the vacancy had not occurred. (3) The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in the Board. (4) No act done by or by the authority of the Board shall be invalid in consequence of any defect that is afterwards discovered in the appointment of the members or any of them. Chairman of Board 6.—(1) The Minister shall appoint one of the members as the Chairman of the Board. (2) The Chairman of the Board shall preside at any meeting of the Board and, in his absence, such member as the members present may elect shall preside at that meeting. Meetings and quorum 7.—(1) At any meeting of the Board, 7 members shall form a quorum. (2) Any decision at a meeting of the Board shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting and, in the case of an equality of votes, the member presiding at that meeting shall have a casting vote. (3) Subject to this Act and the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Board may regulate its own procedure. [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] Functions of Board 8. The functions of the Board are — (a) to approve or reject applications for registration and enrolment of nurses and for registration of midwives; (aa) to approve or reject applications for certification of Advanced Practice Nurses; (b) to issue practising certificates; (c) to accredit — (i) courses in Singapore for the purposes of registration and enrolment of nurses, registration of midwives and certification of Advanced Practice Nurses; (ii) courses in Singapore which provide qualifications in nursing or midwifery in addition to those required for registration and enrolment; and (iii) the institutions in Singapore offering any of these courses; (d) to regulate standards for the training and education of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses; (e) to regulate the standards and scope of practice of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses; (f) to regulate the professional conduct and ethics of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses; and (g) generally to do all such acts, matters and things as are necessary or authorised to be carried out under this Act. [15/2005] Appointment of executive secretary and other employees 9. The Board may appoint an executive secretary and such other employees on such terms as the Board may determine. Appointment of committees 10.—(1) The Board may appoint one or more committees for any general or special purpose which, in the opinion of the Board, may be better dealt with or managed by a committee. (2) The Board may delegate to any committee so appointed, with or without restrictions or conditions as the Board thinks fit, any of the powers or functions which may be exercised or performed by the Board. (3) The number and term of office of the members of a committee and the number of those members necessary to form a quorum shall be fixed by the Board. (4) A committee may include persons who are not members of the Board. (5) [Deleted by Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] (6) This section shall not apply to a Complaints Committee. Payment of members of Board and of committees 11. There shall be paid to — (a) the members; and (b) the members of any committee appointed under section 10 and the members of any Complaints Committee appointed under section 37, who are not public officers such fees as may, from time to time, be approved by the Minister.

PART III REGISTRATION AND ENROLMENT Registrar 12.—(1) There must be a chief executive of the Board called the Registrar of the Board, whose appointment and removal must be in accordance with the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018. (2) The Board may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint an individual to act temporarily as the Registrar during any period, or during all periods, when the Registrar — (a) is absent from duty or Singapore; or (b) is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office. [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] Register and Roll 13.—(1) In addition to duties under the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Registrar must keep and maintain — (a) a register to be called the Register of Nurses which shall consist of such parts as the Board may determine; (b) a roll to be called the Roll of Nurses which shall consist of such parts as the Board may determine; and (c) a register to be called the Register of Midwives. [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] (2) The Registrar shall enter in the appropriate part of the Register or Roll, as the case may require, the name of every person who is registered or enrolled, together with such other particulars as the Board may determine. (3) Every registered nurse, enrolled nurse and registered midwife shall inform the Registrar in writing of any change in his name, working address, residential address, or such of his other particulars as may be prescribed, within 28 days of the change. (4) [Deleted by Act 15 of 2005] (5) A person who makes a report of a change in his residential address under section 8 of the National Registration Act (Cap. 201) shall be deemed to have complied with subsection (3) on the date on which he makes the report. (6) The Registrar may disclose, in accordance with any prescribed conditions, any information in the Register or Roll to any prescribed person. [15/2005] Registration and enrolment 14.—(1) Subject to sections 15 to 17, a person who satisfies the Board that — (a) he has successfully completed — (i) a course in nursing ...