Legislative Council

LC Paper No. LS 30/98-99

Information Note for the LegCo Panel on Health Services

Statutory Framework Relating to the Supervision of Private Hospitals

Members have asked for information on the statutory framework relating to the supervision of private hospitals.

2. The supervision of private hospitals is carried out by the Director of Health ("the Director") by way of the statutory power to grant or cancel registration under the Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Ordinance (Cap. 165) ("the Ordinance"). Under the Ordinance, a person who carries on a hospital is required to be registered with the Director. Failing to do so is an offence. Under section 3 of the Ordinance, the Director may refuse to register a person or cancel the registration if satisfied that :-

  1. the applicant is not a fit person to carry on a hospital or any person employed by him at the hospital is not a fit person to be employed at a hospital;

  2. for reasons connected with situation, construction, accommodation, staffing or equipment the premises are not fit to be used for or are in any way improper or undesirable; or

  3. the hospital is not under the charge of a person who is either a duly qualified medical practitioner or a registered nurse and who is resident in the hospital, or that there is not a proper proportion of registered nurses among the persons having the superintendence of or employed in the nursing of the patients in the hospital.

The section also empowers the Director to impose conditions relating to the accommodation, staffing or equipment when registering a hospital.

3. The Director has power to cancel registration at any time under section 4 of the Ordinance. Circumstances in which the Director may cancel registration are :-

  1. any of the circumstances which would entitle him to refuse an application for registration exists (para. 2 above);

  2. a contravention of the conditions imposed for registration; or

  3. the person carrying on the hospital has been convicted of an offence under the Ordinance.

4. Sections 3 and 4 of the Ordinance is attached for Members' reference.


prepared by

Mr LEE Yu-sung
Senior Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
10 September 1998