Establishment and membership of Board
3.—(1) A body called the Singapore Nursing Board is established, which is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.
(2) The Board consists of the following members:(a)
the Director‑General of Health or his or her representative;[Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023]
(b)
the Director-General of Education or his or her representative;
(c)
the Chief Nursing Officer;
(d)
14 other members to be appointed by the Minister, of whom at least —(i)
9 must be registered or enrolled nurses with at least 5 years’ experience in the practice of nursing; and
(ii)
2 must be registered midwives with at least 5 years’ experience in the practice of midwifery.
(3) Only a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore may be appointed as a member.
(4) An appointed member holds office for a term of 3 years or such shorter period as the Minister may in any case determine, and is eligible for re‑appointment at the end of his or her term of office.
Removal of appointed member from office
4. The Minister may remove an appointed member from office if the member —(a)
is an undischarged bankrupt;
(b)
has been found guilty in Singapore or elsewhere of professional misconduct;
(c)
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of an offence involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude;
(d)
is unable to satisfactorily carry out the duties of his or her office because of a mental or physical disability; or
(e)
is absent without leave of the Board from 3 consecutive meetings of the Board or any of its committees.
Vacancy in Board
5.—(1) The office of an appointed member becomes vacant if —(a)
the member dies;
(b)
the member’s term of office expires;
(c)
the member resigns by written notice to the Minister;
(d)
the member ceases to satisfy the qualifications referred to in section 3 by virtue of which the member was eligible for appointment; or
(e)
the member is removed from office under section 4.
(2) Upon the office of an appointed member becoming vacant, the Minister must appoint a person to the vacant office, and the person so appointed holds office for the remainder of the term for which the person’s predecessor would have held office if the vacancy had not occurred.
(3) The Board may act despite any vacancy in the Board.
(4) No act done by or by the authority of the Board is invalid in consequence of any defect that is afterwards discovered in the appointment of the members or any of them.
Chairperson of Board
6.—(1) The Minister must appoint one of the members as the Chairperson of the Board.
(2) The Chairperson of the Board presides at any meeting of the Board and, in the Chairperson’s absence, a member whom the members present may elect presides at that meeting.
Meetings and quorum
7.—(1) At any meeting of the Board, 7 members form a quorum.
(2) Any decision at a meeting of the Board is to be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting and, in the case of an equality of votes, the member presiding at that meeting has a casting vote.
(3) Subject to this Act and the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Board may regulate its own procedure.[5/2018]
Functions of Board
8. The functions of the Board are —(a)
to approve or reject applications for registration and enrolment of nurses and for registration of midwives;
(b)
to approve or reject applications for certification of Advanced Practice Nurses;
(c)
to issue practising certificates;
(d)
to accredit —(i)
courses in Singapore for the purposes of registration and enrolment of nurses, registration of midwives and certification of Advanced Practice Nurses;
(ii)
courses in Singapore which provide qualifications in nursing or midwifery in addition to those required for registration and enrolment; and
(iii)
the institutions in Singapore offering any of these courses;
(e)
to regulate standards for the training and education of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses;
(f)
to regulate the standards and scope of practice of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses;
(g)
to regulate the professional conduct and ethics of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, registered midwives and Advanced Practice Nurses; and
(h)
generally to do all such acts, matters and things as are necessary or authorised to be carried out under this Act.
Appointment of executive secretary and other employees
9. The Board may appoint an executive secretary and such other employees on such terms as the Board may determine.
Appointment of committees
10.—(1) The Board may appoint one or more committees for any general or special purpose which, in the opinion of the Board, may be better dealt with or managed by a committee.
(2) The Board may delegate to any committee so appointed, with or without restrictions or conditions as the Board thinks fit, any of the powers or functions which may be exercised or performed by the Board.
(3) The number and term of office of the members of a committee and the number of those members necessary to form a quorum are to be fixed by the Board.
(4) A committee may include persons who are not members of the Board.
(5) This section does not apply to a Complaints Committee.
Payment of members of Board and of committees
11. There are to be paid to —(a)
the members; and
(b)
the members of any committee appointed under section 10 and the members of any Complaints Committee appointed under section 37,
who are not public officers such fees as may be approved by the Minister.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
