Act of Parliament · As enacted
Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital Board Act 1999
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short Title
This Act may be cited as the Vijaya Kumaratunga
Memorial Hospital Board Act, No. 38 of 1999.
There shall be established a Board, which shall be called “The Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital Board”
(hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) for the purpose of managing and administering the affairs of the Vijaya
Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital (hereinafter referred to as the “Hospital”) and consisting of the land and buildings specified in the Schedule to this Act.
The Board shall, by the name assigned to it by subsection (1), be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in such name.
The Board shall consist of the following members appointed by the Minister -
the Chairman of the Board who shall be appointed from among the members nominated under paragraph (v) of this subsection ;
a representative of the Ministry of the Minister, nominated by the Minister :
a person elected by the Medical practitioners employed in the hospital, from among themselves ;
a member of any profession, who has achieved eminence in that profession ; and
four member representing the Vijaya Kumaratunga
Memorial Foundation, nominated by that
Foundation.
The Chairman and every other member of the Board shall hold office for a period of three years from the date of his appointment.
In the event of the vacation of the office of the
Chairman or any other member of the Board, the Minister may appoint another person to hold the office of Chairman or member, as the case may be, during the unexpired period of the term of office of the Chairman or member whom he succeeds.
If the Chairman or any other member of the Board is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of his office by reason of ill health or any other cause, The Minister may appoint another person to act in his place as Chairman or member, as the case may be.
The Chairman or any other member of the Board may at any time resign his office by letter in that behalf addressed to the Minister.
The Minister may, for reasons assigned remove the
Chairman or any other member of the Board, from office.
Any member of the Board who, without leave of the
Board first obtained, fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Board, shall ipso facto vacate his office , with effect from the date of the last of such meetings.
Any member of the Board who vacates office other then a member who is removed from office under this Act, shall be eligble for reappointment.
s 4Remuneration of the members of the Board
The Member of the Board shall be remunerated in such a manner and at such rates as may be determined by the
Minister in consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance.
Meetings of the Board shall be held at least once a month.
The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be four.
The Chairman of the Board shall preside at the meetings of the Board, or in his absence any member of the
Board elected from among the members present shall preside at such meeting.
The Board may act notwithstanding a vacancy among its members, of any defect in the appointment of a member thereof.
s 6Seal of the Board
The seal of the Board -
shall be in the custody of the Chairman of the Board ;
may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Board ; and
shall not be affixed to any document except with the sanction of the Board and in the presence of two members of the Board who shall sign the document in token of their presence.
s 7Land and premises vested in the Board
The land and premises described in the Schedule to this Act are hereby vested in the Board.
s 8Functions of the Board
The functions of the Board shall be to administer the affairs of the Hospital and to ensure that it functions efficiently and effectively as an institution for the care of the sick.
The Board shall have the power to do all things as are necessary for or conducive or incidental to the control, management and administration of the Hospital, and the discharge of its functions.
Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the Board may exercise the following powers :-
to receive grants, gifts or donations in cash or kind, whether from local or foreign sources ;
to take or hold any property, movable or immovable, which may become vested in it by this Act, or by virture of any purchase, grant, gift, testamentary disposition or otherwise, and to sell, mortgage, lease, grant, convey, devise, assign, exchange or otherwise dispose of, any such movable and immovableproperty other than the land and premises described in the Schedule to this Act ;
subject to the provisions of this Act, to appoint, employ and remunerate officers and servants of the
Board and to make regulations regarding the appointment, promotion, remuneration and disciplinary control of such officers and servants and the grant of leave and other benefits to them ;
to open, operate and close bank accounts and borrow or raise money, with or without security ;
to enter into such contracts as maybe necessary for the discharge of its functions ;
to do all other acts and things as are incidental or conducive to the discharge of the functions of the
Board.
The Board may appoint a Committee of
Management to administer the day to day affairs of the
Hospital.
The Board may from time to time delegate to the
Committee of Management appointed under subsection (1)
such of its powers, duties and functions as may by determined by the Board.
The Committee of Management shall consist of the following members :-
the person designated as the Director of the
Hospital ;
three persons selected by the Board from among the Consultants employed in the Hospital provided that not more than one shall be from the same speciality ;
the person designated as the Chief Matron of the
Hospital ;
the Person designated as the Secretany of the
Hospital or the chief Administrative officer of the
Hospital ;
the person designated as the Chief Accountant of the Hospital ; and
a representative of the Vijaya Kumaratunga
Memorial Foundation, nominated by that
Foundation.
The Director of the Hospital shall be the Chairman of the Committee of Management.
The Chairman of the Board shall have the right to attend any meeting of the Committee of Management.
The Committee of Management shall determine the quorum for, and the procedure to be followed at, the meetings of such Committee.
s 11Directions of the Minister
The Minister may, from time to time, issue to the
Board general or special directions as to the exercise, performance and discharge of the powers, duties and functions of the Board and the Board shall comply with every such direction.
The Board shall have and maintain its own Fund.
There shall be paid into the Fund of the Board -
all such sums of money as may be received by the
Board by way of gift or donation, from local and foreign sources ;
all such sums of money as may be received by the
Board by way of grant from the Government ; and
all such sums of money as may be received by the
Board as income from endowments and investments.
There shall be paid out of the Fund of the Board all such sums of money as are required -
to defray any expenditure incurred by the Board in the exeirces, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions under this Act ;
to be paid as remuneration to members of the Board;
and
under any other provision of this Act to be paid out of the Fund of the Board.
The Board shall be responsible for the administration of the Fund of the Board.
The financial year of the Board shall be the calendar year.
The Board shall cause proper books of accounts to be kept of the income and expenditure, assets and liabilities and all other transactions of the Board.
The provisions of Article 154 of the Constitution relating to the audit of the accounts of public corporations shall apply to the audit of the accounts of the Board.
s 14Regulations
The Minister may in Consultation with the Board, make regulations in respect of matters for which regulations are required or authorized to be made under this Act and in particular in respect of all or any of the following matters :-
the establishment of Consultative Committees to advise the Board on -
the adequacy and efficiency of the services provided by the
Hospital, including recommendations for the provision of new buildings and equipment for fulfilling the demands made on the Hospital and for the admission, or denial of admission, to the
Hospital, of patients suffering from any specified diseases ;
the provision of courses of training within
Sri Lanka and abroad for officers and servants of the Board and for this purpose to co-operate with other hospitals or institutions whether in
Sri Lanka or otherwise in such manner and for such purposes as the appropriate Consultative
Committee may determine ;
any other matters as the Minister may refer to a
Consultative Committee for its advice.
the remuneration of the members of the Consultative
Committees ;
The restriction of admission or entry of persons into the Hospital, and the regulation of the conduct of persons who enter therein.
Any person who -
within the premises of the Hospital, uses or makes any obscene, indecent or offensive language or gesture or behaves in any manner likely to annoy or insult any person ;
spits upon, or willfully damages, any part of the property used for the purposes of the Hospital ;
smokes or carries any lighted pipe, cigar, cigarette or article for smoking in any part of the premises of the Hospital in which a notice prohibiting smoking is exhibited ;
throws out of the Hospital, any bottle, liquid or other article or thing likely to annoy persons or to cause damage or injury to any person or property ;
parks a vehicle in any part of the premises of the
Hospital in which a notice prohibiting parking is exhibited ;
damages or destroys any plant within the premises of the Hospital or takes, collects or removes any plant therefrom ; or
destroys or damages any property used for the purposes of the Hospital including any fixtures and equipment, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall, on conviction after summary trial by a Magistrate, be liable to a finenot exceeding one thousand rupees.
Where in a prosecution for an offence under this Act a question arises as to whether any place is within the premises of the Hosptal or whether any property was used for the purposes of this Hospital, a certificate under the hand of the Director of the Hospital to the effect that the place speci-fied therein is within the premises of the Hospital or that the property specified therein was used for the purposes of the
Hospital shall be admissible in evidence without proof of signature and shall be evidence of the facts stated therein.
At the request of the Board, any public officer may, with the consent of that officer and of the Secretary of the Ministry in which that officer is employed and the
Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister in charge of Public
Administration be temporatrily appointed to the staff of the
Board for such period as may be determined by the Board with like consent , or with like consent be permanently appointed to such staff.
Where any public officer is temporarily appointed to the staff of the Board, the provisions of subsection (2) of section 14 of the National Transport Commission Act,
No.37 of 1991 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to and in relation to him.
Where any public officer is permanently appointed to the staff of the Board, the provisions of subsection (3) of section 14 of the National Transport Commission Act,
No.37 of 1991 shall, mutatis, mutandis, apply to and in relation to him.
Where the Board employs any person who has entered into a contract with the Government to serve the
Government for a specified period, any period of service to the Board by that person shall be regarded as service to the
Government for the purpose of discharging the obligations of such contract.
No action or prosecution shall be instituted against any member of the Board or against any officer, servant or agent of the Board appointed for the purposes of this Act for any act which is in good faith done or purported to be done by such person under this Act or on the direction of the Board.
Any expense incurred by the Board in any action or prosecution brought by or against the Board before any court shall be paid out of the Fund of the Board, and any costs paid to, or recovered by, the Board in any such suit or prosecution shall be credited to the Fund of the Board.
Any expense incurred by any such person as is referred to in subsection (1) in any action or prosecution brought against him before any court in respect of any act which is done or is purported to be done by him under this
Act or on the direction of the Board shall, if the court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the Fund of the Board unless such expense is recovered by him in such action or prosecution.
s 18Officers and servants of the Board deemed to be public servants under the Penal Code
All officers and servants of the Board shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning and for the purposes of the Penal Code.
s 19Board deemed to be a Scheduled Institution within the meaning of the Bribery Act
The Board shall be deemed to be a Scheduled
Institution within the meaning of the Bribery Act, and the provisions of that Act shall be construed accordingly.
s 20Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail
s 21Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires
“the Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Foundation” means the
Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Foundation established by the
Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Foundation Act, No.31 of 1998.