Midwives (Scotland) Act 1951
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1951 c. 54 |
| Year | 1951 |
Midwives (Scotland) Act , 1951
(14 & 15 Geo. 6) CHAPTER 54
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to midwives in Scotland.
[1st August 1951]
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:—
The Central Midwives Board for Scotland
1 Constitution and functions of the Central Midwives Board for Scotland.
(1) There shall be a Board, to be called the Central Midwives Board for Scotland (in this Act referred, to as ‘the Board’), and the Board shall have such duties and powers as are conferred on them by the provisions of this Act.
(2) Subject to the provisions of any order made under the next following subsection, the provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the constitution and procedure of the Board.
(3) If at any time it appears to the Secretary of State, after consultation with such bodies and persons as appear to him to be concerned, to be expedient so to do, he may by order vary the constitution of the Board or reconstitute the Board.
The power conferred on the Secretary of State by this subsection shall be exercisable by statutory instrument whereof a draft shall be laid before Parliament.
(4) An order made under the last foregoing subsection may provide for any incidental or supplementary matters for which it appears to the Secretary of State to be requisite or expedient for the purposes of the order to provide, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of this subsection, may (so far as provision in that behalf appears to the Secretary of State to be requisite or expedient for the purpose of giving full effect to the order) empower the Board to make rules with respect to such matters as may be specified in the order.
Provisions relating to the Certification of Midwives, the Roll of Certified Midwives and the Discipline of Midwives
2 Certification of midwives.
2. It shall be the duty of the Board to issue, in pursuance of rules in that behalf made under the following provisions of this Act, certificates to women who comply with the rules.
3 The roll of certified midwives.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Board to keep a roll of certified midwives (hereinafter in this Act referred to as ‘the roll’).
(2) The secretary of the Board, acting under the instructions of the Board, shall be charged with the preparation, correction and custody of the roll.
(3) A copy of the roll shall be kept at the office of the Board and shall be open to the inspection of any person without charge during usual business hours.
(4) Each entry in the roll shall include, with respect to the woman to whom the entry relates, an indication of the manner in which she became entitled to be certified under this Act or the Midwives (Scotland) Act, 1915.
(5) A copy of the roll printed by the authority of the Board or signed by the secretary of the Board, or other person authorised by the Board to sign on his behalf, shall be evidence that the women therein specified are certified midwives, and the absence of the name of a woman from such copy shall be evidence that that woman is not a certified midwife.
(6) A certificate under the hand of the secretary of the Board or other person authorised as aforesaid that the name of a woman whose name does not appear in such a copy as aforesaid is included in the roll shall be evidence that that woman is a certified midwife; and a certificate under the hand of the secretary of the Board or other person authorised as aforesaid that the name of a woman whose name appears in the roll has been removed therefrom, and of the date of the removal, shall be evidence of the fact that that woman is not a certified midwife and of the date as from which she ceased to be certified under this Act or the Midwives (Scotland) Act, 1915.
(7) If any person wilfully makes or causes to be made any falsification in any matter relating to the roll, he shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable, on conviction thereof, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months.
4 Removal of midwives from the roll.
(1) The Board may remove from the roll the name of a certified midwife who disobeys any of the rules made under or by virtue of this Act by the Board or who otherwise misconducts herself, and where they do so they may cancel her certificate.
(2) The Board may from time to time by registered letter, addressed to any woman whose name is included in the roll at her address as appearing therein, inquire of her whether she has ceased practice or has changed her residence; and if within a period of six months from the sending of the letter no answer is received thereto the Board may remove her name from the roll, and cancel her certificate.
(3) Where the Board remove the name of a woman from the roll they shall forthwith give notice of that fact to all local supervising authorities concerned.
(4) Where the Board remove the name of a woman from the roll they may, in addition, prohibit her from attending women in childbirth in any capacity other than that of midwife.
(5) A woman who thinks herself aggrieved by any decision of the Board to remove her name from the roll or to prohibit her from attending women in childbirth may within three months after the notification to her of the decision appeal therefrom to the Court of Session, and the order of the Court of Session on an appeal under this subsection shall be final.
(6) A woman whose name is ordered to be removed from the roll under subsection (1) of this section shall within fourteen days from the notification to her of the order, surrender to the Board her certificate and any badge issued to her in pursuance of rules made under the following provisions of this Act by the Board, and, if she fails so to do, she shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.
(7) The Board may restore to the roll the name of a woman removed therefrom, other than the name of a woman removed therefrom under section four of the Maternity Services (Scotland) Act, 1937, and where they do so they may re-issue the woman's certificate.
(8) A woman who acts in contravention of a prohibition imposed under subsection (4) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
(9) The Board may make rules providing, in relation to proceedings before the Board for the removal of the name of a woman from the roll, for the summoning, attendance and examination of witnesses, the production of documents, the administration of oaths and the taking of affirmations.
5 Power of the Board to make rules as to certification of midwives, &c.
(1) The Board shall have power to make rules—
(a ) regulating the issue by them of certificates and the conditions of admission to the roll, and prescribing courses of training to be undergone and the examinations to be passed by women as a condition of the issue of certificates to them;
(b ) regulating, supervising and restricting within due limits the practice of certified midwives;
(c ) defining the emergencies in which a certified midwife shall call in a duly qualified medical practitioner to her assistance;
(d ) prescribing the conditions under which certified midwives may be suspended from practice and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, authorising the Board to suspend a certified midwife from practice in lieu of removing her name from the roll, and to suspend from practice until the case has been decided and (in the case of an appeal) until the appeal has been decided, a certified midwife accused before the Board of disobeying rules or of other misconduct;
(e ) requiring certified midwives to attend from time to time, in accordance with the provisions of the rules, a course of instruction approved by the Board;
(f ) regulating the granting by the Board of diplomas, being diplomas in the teaching of midwifery, to certified midwives presenting themselves for examination for such diplomas; and
(g ) making provision with respect to the uniform which may be worn by certified midwives and as to the wearing of badges by them.
(2) Examinations prescribed by rules made under paragraph (a ) of the foregoing subsection shall, so far as possible, be of a practical character, and shall be held at such times and places as the Board may determine; and the Board may appoint examiners, of whom one shall be a woman who is a duly qualified medical practitioner and none shall be a member of the Board, for the purposes of such examinations, and may make rules regulating the conduct of such examinations and the remuneration of examiners appointed for the purposes thereof.
(3) There shall be payable to the Board by a woman in respect of any examination for which she presents herself and in respect of the issue to her of a certificate such fees respectively as may be determined by the Board with the approval of the Secretary of State.
6 Certification of midwives certified in England or Northern Ireland.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Board in exercise of the power conferred on them by paragraph (a of the last foregoing section—
(a ) after consultation with the Central Midwives Board, to...
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