Midwives (Ireland) Act 1918
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1918 c. 59 |
| Year | 1918 |
Midwives (Ireland) Act, 1918
(7 & 8 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 59.
An Act to secure the better training of Midwives in Ireland, and to regulate their practice.
[6th February 1918]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Certification.
(1) From and after the first day of January one thousand nine hundred and nineteen any woman who, not being certified under this Act, shall take or use the name or title of midwife (either alone or in combination with any other word or words), or any name, title, addition, or description implying that she is certified under this Act, or is a person specially qualified to practise midwifery, or is recognised by law as a midwife, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.
(2) From and after the first day of January one thousand nine hundred and twenty-four no woman shall habitually and for gain attend women in child-birth otherwise than under the direction of a registered medical practitioner unless she be certified under this Act; any woman so acting without being certified under this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds: Provided that this subsection shall not apply to registered medical practitioners or to anyone rendering assistance in a case of emergency.
(3) No woman shall be certified under this Act until she has complied with the rules and regulations to be laid down in pursuance of this Act.
(4) No woman certified under this Act shall employ an uncertified person as her substitute.
(5) The certificate under this Act shall not confer upon any woman any right or title to be registered under the Medical Acts or to assume any name, title, or designation implying that she is by law recognised as a medical practitioner, or that she is authorised to grant any medical certificate, or any certificate of death or of still-birth, or to undertake the charge of cases of abnormality or disease in connection with parturition, but nothing herein contained shall prevent a midwife granting such certificates as may be required by the rules of approved societies or insurance committees in connection with maternity benefit under the National Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1915, or any enactment amending the same.
2 Provision for existing midwives.
(1) Any woman who, within two years from the commencement of this Act, claims to be certified under this Act shall be so certified—
(a ) if she holds a certificate in midwifery from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland;
(b ) if she holds a certificate in midwifery granted in accordance with this section by any lying-in hospital recognised as a training school for midwives by the Local Government Board, or holds any other certificate in midwifery which may be approved by the Central Midwives Board for Ireland;
(c ) if she is or has been a permanent midwife of a workhouse or a dispensary district in Ireland;
(d ) if she is certified under the Midwives Act, 1902 , or the Midwives (Scotland) Act, 1915 ; or
(e ) if she satisfies the Central Midwives Board for Ireland that, at the passing of this Act, she had been for at least one year in bon fide practice as a midwife and that she bears a good character.
(2) The holding of a certificate from a lying-in hospital recognised by the Local Government Board shall not entitle a woman to be registered under this section unless the certificate was granted on examination, and after a course of training in midwifery in the hospital for at least three months, in the case of a trained medical or surgical nurse, and at least six months in the case of any other woman.
(3) The period within which claims may be made to be certified under this section may be extended by the Central Midwives Board for Ireland in special cases where any woman is able to satisfy them that she had reasonable excuse for having failed to make her claim within that period.
3 Constitution of the Central Midwives Board for Ireland.
(1) On the passing of this Act the Lord President of the Council shall take steps to secure the formation of a Central Midwives Board for Ireland (hereafter in this Act termed the Board), which shall consist of—
(a ) three persons to be appointed by the Local Government Board, of whom one shall be a registered medical practitioner and two shall be persons appointed after consultation with the county councils and county borough councils, to represent those bodies respectively on the Central Midwives Board;
(b ) four registered medical practitioners to be elected by the registered medical practitioners resident in Ireland;
(c ) four women (in this Act referred to as midwives' representatives) to be appointed by the Local Government Board, of whom three shall be appointed after consultation with recognised nursing associations in Ireland.
(2) On the first day of February, nineteen hundred and twenty-three, and on the first day of February in every fifth year thereafter, all the appointed and elected members of the Board shall go out of office, and their places shall be filled by new elections and new appointments, but a person going out of office may, if otherwise qualified, be re-elected or re-appointed.
(3) A woman shall not be qualified for appointment as a midwives' representative unless at the time of appointment she is resident in Ireland; and
(a ) in the case of appointments made on or after the first day of February, nineteen hundred and twenty-three, is a certified midwife; and
(b ) in the case of appointments made prior to that date possesses a qualification specified in paragraph (a ), (b ) or (d ) of subsection (1) of section two of this Act.
(4) Any vacancy occurring by death or resignation or any cause other than retirement in the ordinary course shall be filled—
(a ) in the case of an elected registered medical practitioner, by a member co-opted by the remaining members who are elected registered medical practitioners; and
(b ) in the case of an appointed member, by a member appointed in the like manner by the authority by whom the member whose place is vacant was appointed;
and the person so co-opted or appointed shall hold office until the time when the person in whose place he is co-opted or appointed would have regularly gone out of office, and shall then go out of office.
(5) The elections of elected members and the consultations with bodies to be consulted in connection with the appointment of appointed members shall be conducted and arranged in accordance with regulations to be made by the Local Government Board. The returning officer at the first election of registered medical practitioners shall be the Vice-President of the Local Government Board, or a person nominated by him, and at any subsequent election shall be the Chairman of the Central Midwives Board or a person nominated by him.
The Board may act notwithstanding a vacancy or vacancies in their number.
The Board shall elect a chairman from their own number.
The meetings of the Board shall be held in the city of Dublin, and the members shall be paid in respect of their attendance thereat reasonable expenses on a scale approved by the Privy Council.
4 Future revision of constitution of the Board.
(1) The Board may at any time represent to the Privy Council that it is expedient to modify the constitution of the Board either by—
(a ) increasing or diminishing the number of persons appointed by any body or person; or
(b ) abolishing the power of appointment by any body or person; or
(c ) conferring on any body or person a power of appointment of one or more persons; or
(d ) altering the term of office or qualifications of any members.
(2) The Privy Council before considering such representation shall cause it to be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
(3) If either House of Parliament within forty days (exclusive of any period of adjournment for more than one week) next after such representation has been laid before the House presents an address to His Majesty declaring that the representation or any part thereof ought not to be given effect to, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the representation or part thereof in regard to which the address has been presented; but if no such address is presented by either House within such forty days as aforesaid, or if an address relating only to some part of such representation be so presented, the Privy Council may, if they think fit, report to His Majesty that it is expedient to give effect to the representation or to any other part thereof as the case may be; and it shall be lawful for His Majesty by Order in Council to give effect to the same, and any Order in Council so made shall have effect as if enacted in this Act.
5 Duties and powers of the Board.
5. The duties and powers of the Board shall be as follows:—
(1) To frame rules—
(a ) regulating their own proceedings;
(b ) regulating the issue of certificates and the conditions of admission to the roll of midwives;
(c ) regulating the course of training and the conduct of examinations (which shall, so far as possible, be of a practical character) and the remuneration of the examiners;
(d ) regulating the admission to the roll of women already in practice as midwives at the passing of this Act;
(e ) regulating, supervising, and restricting within due limits the practice of midwives, and defining the emergencies in which a midwife shall call in a registered medical practitioner to her assistance;
(f ) defining the conditions under which midwives may be suspended from practice;
(g ) defining the particulars...
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