HER MAJESTY, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as
follows:
Definitions
1 In this Act,
(a) “Committee”
means the Alberta Health Facilities Review Committee and includes a
subcommittee established under section 3;
(b) “hospital”
means
(i) an approved hospital under the Hospitals Act,
(ii) any other hospital, institution or other facility for the
treatment and care of persons that is owned and operated by the Government of
Alberta, except those operated under the administration of the Minister of
Children’s Services or the Minister of Human Resources and Employment or those
that receive their current operating funds or part of them from a supply vote
that is under the administration of a member of the Executive Council other
than the Minister,
(iii) a hospital under the jurisdiction of a provincial health board
under the Regional Health Authorities Act,
(iv) a nursing home as defined in the Nursing Homes Act;
(c) “Minister” means the Minister determined
under section 16 of the Government
Organization Act as the Minister responsible for this Act.
RSA 1980 cH‑4
s1;1981 c72 s10;1985 cN‑14.1 s38;
1986 cD‑27.1 s13;1988 cM‑13.1 s55;1989 cD‑21.5 s13;
1989 c10 s7;1994 cA‑30.1 s39(6);1994 cR‑9.07 s25(14)
Committee established
2(1) There is hereby established a committee called
the “Alberta Health Facilities Review Committee” consisting of not more than 12
members appointed by the Minister.
(2) The
members of the Committee may include members of the Legislative Assembly who
are not members of the Executive Council.
(3) An
order appointing a member of the Committee may provide for the member’s term of
office but in the absence of that provision, the term of office of a member is
one year from the effective date of the member’s appointment and afterwards
until the member’s successor is appointed.
(4) The
Minister shall designate one of the members of the Committee as chair and
another as a vice‑chair and, unless the order otherwise provides, the
term of office of a chair or vice‑chair so designated is one year from
the effective date of the designation and afterwards until their respective
successors are designated.
(5) The vice‑chair is the acting chair of the
Committee in the event of the absence or inability to act of the chair or a
vacancy in the office of chair.
RSA 1980 cH‑4
s2;1983 c81 s4
Subcommittees
3(1) The Committee may
(a) establish
one or more subcommittees to perform those duties and functions and exercise
those powers of the Committee prescribed by the Committee, and
(b) appoint
as members of a subcommittee not fewer than 3 members of the Committee.
(2) When
a subcommittee is established, the Committee shall designate a member of a
subcommittee to preside over the subcommittee.
(3) A
member of the Committee may be appointed to more than one subcommittee.
(4) A
majority of the members appointed to a subcommittee constitutes a quorum of the
subcommittee.
(5) A
decision or other action made or taken by a subcommittee at which its quorum is
present is the decision or action of the Committee and binds all members of the
Committee.
(6) Two
or more subcommittees may act simultaneously.
(7) If
a subcommittee is performing a duty or function or exercising its powers and
one or more members of the subcommittee are absent during a portion of the time
that the subcommittee is performing a duty or function or exercising a power,
the remaining members of the subcommittee that are present may, if they
constitute a quorum of the subcommittee, perform the duty or function and
exercise the power of the subcommittee.
(8) Notwithstanding that a subcommittee is
established under this section, the Committee may also perform any duty or
function or exercise any power that it prescribed the subcommittee to perform
or exercise.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s3
Remuneration and
expenses
4 The Minister
(a) may
prescribe the rates of remuneration payable to members of the Committee other
than those who are employees of the Government or members or employees of an
agency of the Government, and
(b) may authorize the payment of travelling and
living expenses for members of the Committee while outside their normal place
of residence in the course of performing their duties.
RSA 1980 cH‑4
s4;1983 c81 s4
Staff
5(1) The Minister may appoint an employee of the
Government who is under the Minister’s administration as the Executive Director
of the Committee who shall under the direction of the chair of the Committee
assist the Committee in carrying out its duties and functions and exercising
its powers.
(2) The Minister shall provide to the Committee the
services of employees of the Government who are under the Minister’s
administration and supplies for the purpose of carrying out secretarial,
clerical and related work that the Committee may reasonably require to enable
it to carry out its duties and functions and exercise its powers.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s5
Meetings
6 The Committee may, with the approval of the
Minister, make rules governing the calling of its meetings, the quorum required
at its meetings, the procedure at its meetings, and any other matter relating
to the conduct of its business and affairs.
RSA 1980 cH‑4
s6;1983 c81 s4
Visiting hospital
7(1) The Committee shall from time to time visit all
hospitals for the purpose of reviewing and inspecting them and the manner in
which they are operated.
(2) The Minister may from time to time request the
Committee to conduct a visit to a hospital for the purposes of reporting to the
Minister on any matter that the Minister specifies in the Minister’s request.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s7
Investigation of
hospital
8 If a complaint is made to the Committee by or on
behalf of a patient in a hospital, the Committee shall investigate the care and
treatment and the standards of accommodation received by that patient or any
other patient in the hospital.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s8
Entry of hospital
9 For the purpose of carrying out a visit or an
investigation under this Act, the Committee may enter a hospital at any
reasonable hour.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s9
Inspection of hospital
records
10(1) The Committee, with respect to a visit or an investigation
under this Act, is entitled to access to the records of the hospital for the
purpose of inspecting them, making copies of them or taking extracts from them.
(2) Subsection
(1) does not apply to
(a) the
financial records of the hospital that relate to the operation of the hospital,
or
(b) records containing individually identifying
health information within the meaning of the Health Information Act unless the patient or the patient’s guardian
consents to those records being inspected.
RSA 2000 cH‑3
s10;RSA 2000 cH‑5 s115
Exemption
11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as
empowering the Committee or other person acting under this Act to inquire into
the financial affairs of the hospital that relate to the operation of the
hospital.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s11
Persons acting on behalf
of Committee
12(1) The Committee may authorize
(a) a
member of the Committee to carry out a visit or investigation on behalf of the
Committee, or
(b) subject
to the approval of the Minister, an employee of the Government who is under the
Minister’s administration to carry out a specific inquiry on behalf of the
Committee in respect of a visit or investigation.
(2) When a member of the Committee or other person
has carried out a visit, investigation or specific inquiry on behalf of the
Committee, that member or person shall report the member’s or person’s findings
to the Committee.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s12
Complaint officer
13(1) The Committee may designate
(a) a
member of the Committee, or
(b) with
the approval of the Minister, an employee of the Government who is under the
Minister’s administration,
as a complaint
officer.
(2) The
complaint officer shall on behalf of the Committee
(a) make
preliminary inquiries, or
(b) if
directed to do so by the chair of the Committee, make investigations
into complaints
received under section 8 and report the results of the inquiry or investigation
to the Committee.
(3) Members of the Committee at the request of the
chair of the Committee may assist the complaint officer in the carrying out of
the complaint officer’s duties.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s13
Powers of Committee
members
14 A member of the Committee or an employee of the
Government carrying out a visit, investigation or other matter on behalf of the
Committee has the same powers that the Committee would have if it were carrying
out the visit, investigation or other matter.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s14
Court order
15(1) If the Committee, a member of the Committee or
an employee of the Government acting on behalf of the Committee is refused entry
to a hospital for the purposes of conducting a visit or an investigation, the
chair of the Committee or a person designated by the chair may apply to the
Court of Queen’s Bench by originating notice for an order permitting the
Committee, member or employee to
(a) enter
the hospital at any reasonable hour and conduct the visit or investigation, and
(b) require
the production of any records of the hospital, other than those referred to in
section 10(2).
(2) An application under subsection (1) may be made
ex parte, if the Court considers it proper to do so in the circumstances.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s15
Annual report
16(1) As soon as possible after the end of each year,
the Committee shall prepare and submit to the Minister a report summarizing its
activities in that year.
(2) On receiving a report under subsection (1), the
Minister shall lay a copy of the report before the Legislative Assembly if it
is then in session, and if not, within 15 days after the commencement of the
next session.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s16
Act binds Crown
17 This Act binds the Crown.
RSA 1980 cH‑4 s17
