An Act to amend the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives Act, 1953.
Preamble.- WHEREAS it is necessary to amend the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives Act, 1953, for the purposes hereinafter appearing;
BE it enacted in the eleventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives (Amendment Act); 1960.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
2. Amendment of Preamble.- In the preamble to the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives Act, 1953 (Act X of 1953) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), the words “excluding the Malabar district” shall be omitted.
3. Amendment of section 1.- In section 1 of the principal Act,-
(i) in sub-section (1), for the words “Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives Act”, the words “Nurses and Midwives Act” shall be substituted;
(ii) for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-
“(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.”
4. Amendment of section 2.- In section 2 of the principal Act,-
(i) in clause (a), for the words “Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives Council”, the words “Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council” shall be submitted;
(ii) for clause (f), the following clause shall be substituted namely:-
“(f) “Register” means the register of nurses or register of midwives or the register of dhais maintained under this Act, and “registered” means registered or deemed to be registered under this Act.”;
(iii) in clause (g), for the words “registered in the register of practitioners”, the words “registered or deemed to be registered in the register of practitioners” shall be substituted.
5. Substitution of new section for section 3.- For section 3 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-
“3. Establishment incorporation and constitution of the Council- (1) The Government shall, by notification in the Gazette, establish a Council to be called the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Such Council shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal and shall by the said name sue and be sued.
(2) The Council shall consist of the following members namely-
(a). the Director of Health Services, the Professor of Gynaecology, Medical College; Trivandrum, the Professor of Gynaecology, Medical College, Kozhikode, the Superintendent, Women and Childrens’ Hospital, Trivandrum and the Superintendent Women and Childrens’ Hospital Kozhikode, to be ex-officio members;
(b). one member elected by the members of the Medical Council from among themselves;
(c). three registered nurses nominated by the Government, two of whom shall be Superintendents of nursing schools and the third shall be the Matron-Superintendent of a MajorHospital;
(d). five members elected by the registered nurses from among the nurses registered in Part A of the register of nurses;
(e). three members elected by the registered midwives from among the midwives registered in Part A of the register of midwives.”
6. Amendment of section 5.- In section 5 of the principal Act, for the words “in the case of the first Council established under this Act” the words, brackets and figures “in the case of the first Council established after the commencement of the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives (Amendment) Act, 1960,” shall be substituted.
7. Amendment of section 6.- In section 6 of the principal Act, after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted namely:-
“(aa) if he is not a resident of the State of Kerala;”,
8. Amendment of section 7.- In sub-section (1) of section 7 of the principal Act,-
(i) in clause (a), for the words “the first Council” the words, brackets and figures “the first Council constituted after the commencement of the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwifes (Amendment) Act, 1960,” shall be substituted;
(ii) in clause (b), for the words “the first Council”, the words, brackets and figures “the first Council constituted after the commencement of the Travancore-Cochin Nurses and Midwives (Amendment) Act, 1960,” shall be substituted.
9. Amendment of section 8.- In section 8 of the principal Act, for the first sentence, the following sentence shall be substituted, namely-
“Vacancies in the office of the elected or nominated members of the Council shall be filled by election or nomination, as the case may be.”
10. Amendment of section 9.- In sub-section (5) of section 9 of the principal Act, for the words “Surgeon General”, the words “Director of Health Services” shall be substituted.
11. Amendment of section 11.- In section 11 of the principal Act, for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
“(a) subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 7, on the expiry of the term of office”.
12. Amendment of section 18.- In section 18 of the principal Act,-
(i) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-
“(2-a) The Government shall cause to be prepared a separate register of dhais registered under the Madras Nurses and Midwives Act, 1926 and holding appointments or practicing in the Malabar district referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Central Act 37 of 1956), in such form and containing such particulars as may be prescribed.”.
(ii) in sub-section (3), for the words “nurses and midwives”, the words “nurses, midwives and dhais” shall be substituted.
13. Amendment of section 25.- In section 25 of the principal Act,-
(i) in sub-section (1), for the words “nurses and midwives”, the words “nurses, midwives and dhais” shall be substituted;
(ii) in sub-section (2), for the words “nurses and midwives”, the words “nurses, midwives and dhais” shall be substituted;
(iii) in sub-section (3), after the words “registered midwife” in both places where they occur, the words “or registered dhai” shall be inserted.
14. Amendment of section 28.- In sub-section (1) of section 28 of the principal Act, for the words “nurses and midwives”, the words “nurses, midwives and dhais” shall be substituted.
15. Amendment of section 29.- In section 29 of the principal Act, after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be added, namely:-
“(3) Every nurse or midwife deemed to be registered under sub-section (1) of section 40-A and every dhai entitled to practice under the provisions of this Act shall give notice of any change of address to the local supervising authority within whose jurisdiction he is practicing.”.
16. Amendment of section 30.- In sub-section (1) of section 30 of the principal Act, for the words “nurse or midwife” in both places where they occur, the words “nurse, midwife or dhai” shall be substituted.
17. Amendment of section 32.- In sub-section (1) of section 32 of the principal Act, for the words “nurse or midwife” in both places where they occur, the words “nurse, midwife or dhai” shall be substituted.
18. Amendment of section 33.- In section 33 of the principal Act, for the words “registered nurse or midwife” wherever they occur, the words “registered nurse, midwife or dhai” shall be substituted.
19. Amendment of section 34.- In section 34 of the principal Act, for the words “nurse or midwife” the words “nurse, midwife or dhai” shall be substituted.
20. Amendment of section 35.- In section 35 of the principal Act, in clause (k) of sub-section (2), for the words “nurses and midwives” the words “nurses, midwives and dhais” shall be substituted.
21. Amendment of section 40-A.- Section 40-A of the principal Act, shall be renumbered as sub-section (1) of that section and after sub-section (1) as so renumbered the following sub-section shall be added namely:-
“(2) The Registrar shall, on application and on production of evidence, enter the names of nurses and midwives, who are deemed to be registered under sub-section (1), in the appropriate register. No fee shall be charged on such application.”
22. Amendment of section 41.- Section 41 of the principal Act shall be renumbered as sub-section (1) of that section and after sub-section (1) as so renumbered the following sub-section shall be added, namely:-
1. “(2) The Madras Nurses and Midwives Act, 1926 (Madras Act III of 1926), as in force in the Malabar district referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, is hereby repealed.”
