National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003)Chapter 6 : Health Establishments41. Provision of health services at public health establishments |
| (1) | The Minister, in respect of a central hospital, and the relevant member of the Executive Council, in respect of all other public health establishments within the province in question, may— |
| (a) | determine the range of health services that may be provided at the relevant public health establishment; |
| (b) | prescribe the procedures and criteria for admission to and referral from a public health establishment or group of public health establishments; |
| (c) | subject to subsection (2), prescribe schedules of fees, including penalties for not following the procedures contemplated in paragraph (b), for— |
| (i) | different categories of users; |
| (ii) | various forms of treatment; and |
| (iii) | various categories of public health establishments; and |
| (d) | in consultation with the relevant Treasury, determine the proportion of revenue generated by a particular public health establishment classified as a hospital that may be retained by that hospital, and how those funds may be used. |
| (2) | When determining a schedule of fees, the fee for a particular service may not be varied in respect of users who are not ordinarily resident in a province. |
| (3) | Despite subsection (2),a province whose residents make use of another province’s services must compensate that province for health services provided to such residents in the manner and to the extent prescribed by the Minister in consultation with, in the case of a central hospital, the National Treasury and, in the case of any other hospital, the relevant Treasury. |
| (4) | The Minister must appoint a representative hospital board for each central hospital or group of central hospitals. |
| (5) | The functions of a central hospital board must be prescribed by the Minister. |
| (6) |
| (a) | The relevant member of the Executive Council must— |
| (i) | appoint a representative board for each public health establishment classified as a hospital or for each group of such public health establishments within the relevant province; |
| (ii) | prescribe the functions of such boards; and |
| (iii) | prescribe procedures for meetings of the board. |
| (b) | A hospital contemplated in paragraph (a) does not include a central hospital. |
| (7) | The boards contemplated in subsections (4) and (6) must be composed of— |
| (a) | one representative from each university associated with the hospital; |
| (b) | in the case of a board contemplated in subsection (4), one representative from the national department; |
| (c) | in the case of boards contemplated in subsections (4) and (6), one representative from the provincial department in the province in which the relevant hospital is situated; |
| (d) | not more than three representatives of the communities served by the hospital, including special interest groups representing users: and |
| (e) | not more than five representatives of staff and management of the hospital but such representatives may not vote at a meeting of the board. |
| (8) | The boards contemplated in subsections (4) and (6) may include not more than five persons with expertise in areas such as accounting, financial management, human resources management, information management and legal matters. |
| (9) | Members of a hospital board are appointed for a period three years at a time and the Minister, in the case of central hospitals, or the relevant member of the Executive Council, in the case of other hospitals, may replace any member on good cause shown. |