National Health Act 1953 Guidelines under section 5B(5) (IHS 13/1999) (Cth)

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 1953

MAKING OF GUIDELINES UNDER SECTION 5B

1, MICHAEL RICHARD LEWIS WOOLRIDGE, Minister for Health and Aged Care, in pursuance of subsection 5B(5) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act), hereby make the following guidelines set out in the attached Schedule relating to decisions to make declarations of premises as day hospital facilities under subsection 5B(1) of the Act.

Date this 30^th day of Aug 1999

(signed)

MICHAEL RICHARD LEWIS WOOLRIDGE

Minister for Health and Aged Care

30 AUG 1999

SCHEDULE

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 1953

MAKING OF GUIDELINES FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUBSECTION 5B(5)

1. In considering whether to make a declaration of premises as a day hospital facility under s.5B(1) the Minister should have regard to:

(a)Whether or not declaration of the premises would materially affect reasonable access by public patients to a reasonable range of services;

(b)Whether or not declaration of the premises would result in a transfer of costs from the State or Territory to any other party;

(c)In the case of day hospital facilities which were part of a public hospital, operated as a public hospital, or are co-located with a public hospital operated by a State or Territory, the adequacy of arrangements in that public hospital to ensure that patients presenting for treatment are able to exercise freely their right to elect to be treated as a public patient in that facility;

(d)In the case of facilities to be used as day hospital facilities and with which the State or Territory has entered into an agreement for the supply of services to public patients the adequacy of the arrangements specified in that agreement to ensure that patients presenting for treatment are able to exercise freely their right to elect to be treated as a public patient in that hospital;

(e)In the case of premises previously part of a public hospital, operated as public hospital, or co-located with a public hospital, whether or not the State or Territory and the licensee of the hospital have entered into or are prepared to enter into enforceable agreements with the Commonwealth to supply data or information to the Commonwealth to allow the Commonwealth to monitor access by public patients to a reasonable range of services, the adequacy of arrangements for patient election, costs to the State/Territory and any other party, and the extent to which costs incurred by other parties are increasing or decreasing;

(f)In the case of premises to be used as day facilities and with which the State or Territory has entered into an agreement for the supply of services to public patients, whether or not the State or Territory and the licensee of the facilities have entered in or are prepared to enter into enforceable agreements with the Commonwealth to ensure the supply of data or information to the Commonwealth to allow the Commonwealth to monitor access by public patients to a reasonable range of services, the adequacy of arrangements for patient election, costs to the State/Territory and any other party, and the extent to which costs incurred by other parties are increasing or decreasing;

(g)In the case where a recognised hospital converts part of existing premises to a day hospital facility, or adds a day hospital facility, the adequacy of the arrangements ensures services through either the day hospital facility or hospital does not affect the provision of health care.

1. In these guidelines:

(a)‘State Territory means the State or Territory in which the premises are located, and includes a governing body or authority established by law of the Commonwealth, a law of a State or the law of an internal territory;

(b)‘licensee’ means the person licensed under the law of the State or Territory in which they are located to operate the premises as a private day facility.