S.I. No. 168/1954 - Health (Duties of District Medical Officers) Order, 1954.

S.I. No. 168 of 1954.

HEALTH (DUTIES OF DISTRICT MEDICAL OFFICERS) ORDER, 1954.

The Minister for Health, being the appropriate Minister for the purposes of Part II of the Local Government Act, 1941 (No. 23 of 1941) as respects the office of district medical officer, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 20 of the said Act hereby declares and orders as follows :—

1. This Order may be cited as the Health (Duties of District Medical Officers) Order, 1954.

2.—(1) In this Order—

" the Minister " means the Minister for Health ;

" the Act of 1953 " means the Health Act, 1953 (No. 26 of 1953) ;

" the general medical services register " means the register established under Article 10 of the General Medical Services Regulations, 1954 ( S.I. No. 102 of 1954 ) ;

" health authority " includes a board of assistance and a board of public assistance.

(2) Other words and expressions used in this Order have the meanings assigned to them in the Health Acts, 1947 and 1953.

(3) A reference in this Order to a dispensary district shall, in relation to a district medical officer to whom a division of a dispensary district has been assigned, be construed as a reference to such division.

3. The duties specified in the First Schedule to this Order shall be the duties of holders of the office of district medical officer.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

DUTIES OF DISTRICT MEDICAL OFFICERS.

1. To perform such duties in relation to the Health Acts, 1947 to 1954, as may be assigned to him.

2. To perform such duties as may be assigned to him in relation to the service specified in section 14 of the Act of 1953 and in particular—

(a) to attend punctually at each dispensary of the district on such days and during such hours as the health authority may direct and at such other times as may be necessary to ensure the proper discharge of the duties of his office ;

(b) to afford adequate medical care and advice at a dispensary or elsewhere as the case may require to any person resident in the dispensary district whose name is entered in the general medical services register and to the dependants of such person and to any person by whom or on whose behalf there is presented to him a direction given pursuant to Article 16 of the General Medical Services Regulations, 1954 ;

(c) In any case in which application is made to him for medical service by a person whose name is not entered in the general medical services register and in respect of whom a direction, given pursuant to Article 16 of the General Medical Services Regulations, 1954, is not presented, to act on his own responsibility and in case of urgency to afford medical care to such person and to require a direction issued pursuant to the said Article 16 to be presented to him thereafter by or on behalf of such person.

(d) To be responsible for the care in respect of motherhood of any woman resident in the dispensary district as respects whom no medical practitioner has undertaken to provide such care and whose name is entered in the general medical services register or of any woman by whom or on whose behalf there is presented to him a direction given pursuant to Article 16 of the General Medical Services Regulations, 1954 ;

(e) to give, when required, a written certificate under his hand to the health authority of the state of health of any patient attended by him, and of such patient's fitness or unfitness to be removed to any health institution or other institution to which the authority is authorised to send such patient ;

(f) to keep and duly enter up the medical register in the form in the Second Schedule to this Order and when so required to submit the same to any medical inspector of the Minister for examination ;

(g) where no compounder of medicine is appointed for the dispensary district—

(i) carefully to compare and check the drugs, medicines and medical and surgical appliances received at a dispensary with the respective invoices relating thereto ;

(ii) to take charge of and keep carefully and safely all drugs, medicines, stores and medical and surgical appliances provided by the health authority for use in the dispensary ;

(iii) to keep the poisonous drugs and medicines at the dispensary under lock and key in a press separate from the other drugs and medicines and to retain and to be responsible for possession of the key of such press ;

(iv) to preserve the medical and surgical appliances of the dispensary in good order, and to keep a complete list of all appliances provided from time to time for dispensary use, and submit the list at the end of each year ending the 31st day of March to an officer of the health authority authorised to examine the same and upon his ceasing to hold office, to hand over the appliances specified in such list to an officer of the health authority authorised to receive them ;

(h) to send to the health authority for transmission to an analyst for analysis according to the requirements of the Minister, samples of the drugs and medicines supplied to the dispensary in compliance with each requisition made by him, not later than fourteen days after the receipt thereof ;

(i) to report to the health authority any defect in the quality or nature of the drugs, medicines and medical and surgical appliances supplied for the use of the dispensary district ;

(j) to record in a book to be kept for the purpose at each dispensary at which he attends, the time of his arrival and departure, on each of the days appointed for his attendance thereat ;

(k) to report in writing to the health authority any matter which he considers necessary to bring to the notice of the authority ;

(l) to make such returns relating to the duties of his office as may from time to time be required by the Minister or by the health authority ;

(m) to report to the health authority any neglect or failure to discharge the duties of his office by the compounder of medicine or by any midwife or the dispensary nurse to whom the health authority have assigned duties in the dispensary district ;

3.—(1) to occupy the dispensary residence where one is provided and to pay such rent therefor as the health authority with the approval of the Minister, may determine ;

(2) if no dispensary residence is provided, to reside in such convenient place within his dispensary district as the health authority shall approve ; unless the Minister, on any exceptional and sufficient grounds, dispenses with this duty ;

4. To perform, under the direction of the chief medical officer, such duties appropriate to his office as may be assigned to him by the health authority in relation to the health services provided by the health authority under the Health Acts, 1947 and 1953.

5. To perform such duties as were, on the 31st day of July, 1954, imposed by or under any enactment on holders of the office under section 73 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) of medical officer of health for a dispensary district.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

FORM OF MEDICAL REGISTER.

MEDICAL REGISTER.

............................................................ ............................................................ ...............Dispensary District.

............................................................ ............................................................ ...............Division.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health this thirty-first day of July, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-four.

THOMAS F. O'HIGGINS,

Minister for Health