(b) inspect, test,
examine, take, remove and detain samples of blood, blood products,
human tissue or fluid or any product of the human body, dialysate,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals or any other substance found in the private
hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare
establishment;
(c) inspect, test,
examine, take and remove all containers, articles and other things
that the Director or authorised officer reasonably believes to contain
or to have contained blood, blood products, human tissue or fluid or
any product of the human body, dialysate, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
or any other substance;
(d) inspect any test or
procedure performed or carried out at the private hospital, medical
clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment in order to
ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act and any regulations
made thereunder.
(e) inspect and make
copies of and take extracts from, or require the licensee or person
having the management or control of the private hospital, medical
clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment to provide
copies of or extracts from, any book, document, record or electronic
material relating to the affairs of the private hospital, medical
clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment or the
facilities or services provided or the practices or procedures being
carried out thereat;
(f) inspect and make
copies of and take extracts from, or require the licensee or person
having the management or control of the private hospital, medical
clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment to provide
copies of or extracts from, the medical record of any person who has
been or who is being treated or examined at the private hospital,
medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment,
notwithstanding that the prior consent of such person has not been
obtained; and
(g) seize and remove
from the private hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or
healthcare establishment any book, record, document, apparatus,
equipment, instrument, material, article, sample, blood, blood
product, human tissue or fluid or any product of the human body,
dialysate, chemical, pharmaceutical or other substance which the
Director or authorised officer reasonably believes to be the
subject-matter of, or to be connected with the commission of, an
offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder.
(3) The Director in
order to -
(a) ascertain whether
the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder are
being complied with; or
(b) assess the quality
and appropriateness of the facilities and services provided and the
practices and procedures being carried out at the private hospital,
medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment,
may, at any time,
require the licensee or person having the management or control of a
private hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare
establishment to furnish such information as the Director may require
relating to -
(i) the persons
employed thereat;
(ii) any apparatus,
appliance, equipment or instrument used or any practice or procedure
being carried out at the private hospital, medical clinic, clinical
laboratory or healthcare establishment; or
(iii) the condition,
treatment or diagnosis of any person who has been or who is being
treated or examined at the private hospital, medical clinic, clinical
laboratory or healthcare establishment, notwithstanding that the prior
consent of such person has not been obtained.
(4) Any licensee or
person having the management or control of the private hospital,
medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment who -
(a) refuses or fails,
without reasonable excuse, to furnish any information to the Director
in contravention of subsection (3); or
(b) gives any false or
misleading information, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
Confidentiality of
information
12. - (1) Except in the
case of a prosecution for an offence under this Act or any regulations
made thereunder, the Director and an authorised officer shall not be
compellable in any proceedings to give evidence in respect of, or to
produce any document containing, any information which has been
obtained from any private hospital, medical clinic, clinical
laboratory or healthcare establishment in the course of carrying out
any investigation or performing any duty or function under this Act.
(2) The Director and an
authorised officer shall not disclose any information which is
contained in the medical record, or which relates to the condition,
treatment or diagnosis, of any person, as may have come to his
knowledge in the course of carrying out any investigation or
performing any duty or function under this Act unless the disclosure
is made -
(a) under or for the
purpose of administering and enforcing -
(i) this Act;
(ii) the Infectious
Diseases Act (Cap. 137); or
(iii) the Termination
of Pregnancy Act (Cap. 324);
(b) for the purpose of
any disciplinary proceedings under the Dentists Act (Cap. 76) or the
Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174); or
(c) for any other
purpose with the consent of the person to whom the information relates
or the representative of such person.
(3) For the purposes of
subsection (2) (c), "representative" -
(a) in relation to a
deceased person, means his executor, administrator or next of kin;
(b) in relation to an
infant, means one of his parents or his guardian; and
(c) in relation to a
mentally disordered person, means the committee of the estate of that
person appointed under the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap.
178).
Directions as to
apparatus and equipment, etc.
13. - (1) Where, in the
opinion of the Director or an authorised officer, the use of any
apparatus, appliance, equipment or instrument or the carrying out of
any practice or procedure in a private hospital, medical clinic,
clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment -
(a) is dangerous or
detrimental to any person therein; or
(b) is otherwise
unsuitable for the purpose for which it is used or carried out, the
Director or authorised officer may, by notice, direct the licensee or
person having the management or control of the private hospital,
medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment to
stop using such apparatus, appliance, equipment or instrument or to
stop carrying out such practice or procedure.
(2) The Director or an
authorised officer may, by notice, direct the licensee or person
having the management or control of a private hospital, medical
clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment to install or
replace such apparatus, appliance, equipment or instrument therein, as
may be specified in the notice.
(3) Any licensee or
person who fails to comply with any direction given to him under
subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the
case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000
for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after
conviction.
14. Repealed by Act
19/99 wef 1 June 1999.
Obstructing officers
in execution of their duties
16A. Any person who
obstructs, hinders or impedes the Director or any authorised officer
in the performance or execution of his duty or anything which he is
authorised, empowered or required to do under this Act or any
regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Protection from
liability
16B. No suit or other
legal proceedings shall lie against the Director, any authorised
officer or any member of an advisory committee established under
section 2A (5), for anything which is done in good faith in the
execution or purported execution of this Act or any regulations made
thereunder.
Jurisdiction of
Courts
16C. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in the Criminal Procedure Code
(Cap. 68), a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court shall have
jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act or any regulations made
thereunder and to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of
any such offence.
Composition of
offences
16D. - (1) The Director
may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act or any
regulations made thereunder which is prescribed as a compoundable
offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having
committed the offence a sum of money not exceeding $2,000.
(2) On payment of such
sum of money, no further proceedings shall be taken against such
person in respect of the offence.
Exemption
16E. - (1) The Minister
may, subject to such terms or conditions as he may impose, exempt any
private hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare
establishment from all or any of the provisions of this Act or any
regulations made thereunder.
(2) An exemption
granted under this section may be revoked at any time.