Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024

PART 3

Pathology Practice

Chapter 1

Preliminary and General

Definitions (Part 3)

38. In this Part—

“Act of 2004” means the Health Act 2004 ;

“Authority” means the Health Information and Quality Authority;

“child” includes a stillborn child;

“coronial post-mortem examination” means a post-mortem examination directed by or on behalf of a coroner under the Coroners Acts 1962 to 2024 in relation to a deceased person;

“designated healthcare worker” means—

(a) a registered medical practitioner,

(b) a registered nurse or registered midwife within the meaning of section 2 (1) of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 ,

(c) a member of one or more of the following designated professions within the meaning of section 3 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 , namely:

(i) medical scientist;

(ii) psychologist;

(iii) social care worker;

(iv) social worker;

(v) such other designated profession within the meaning of the said section 3 of the said Act as the Minister considers appropriate and may prescribe by regulations under section 3 ,

(d) an anatomical pathology technician, or

(e) a staff member nominated for that purpose by the hospital concerned,

who by way of training and expertise has the relevant understanding and experience to undertake functions under this Part;

“health service” means the provision, by or under the direction of a health services provider, of clinical care or any ancillary service to a patient for—

(a) the screening (other than a cancer screening service), preservation or improvement of the health of the patient,

(b) the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or care of an illness, injury or health condition of the patient,

(c) the performance of surgery, or a surgical intervention, in respect of aesthetic purposes, or other non-medical purposes, that involves instruments or equipment being inserted into the body of the patient, or

(d) without prejudice to paragraph (a), a cancer screening service;

“hospital” shall be construed in accordance with section 39 ;

“mother”, in relation to a foetus, means the woman who carried the foetus;

“nominated person” has the meaning assigned to it by section 52 ;

“non-coronial post-mortem examination” means the examination of the body of a deceased person (including a foetus or stillborn child) involving its dissection and the removal of part of a body which is carried out for a purpose specified in section 44 and includes—

(a) removal of tissue for diagnostic purposes and the retention of small samples of same as histological blocks and slides to form part of the post-mortem record, and

(b) for the purposes of a non-coronial post-mortem examination of a foetus, a laboratory examination performed on the foetus for any of the purposes specified in that section;

“part of a body” means any part of the human anatomy and includes but is not limited to—

(a) an organ,

(b) tissue,

(c) a limb or part of a limb,

(d) blood or any material derived from blood, or

(e) any other biological fluid;

“post-mortem examination report” has the meaning assigned to it by section 46 ;

“private hospital” means a hospital under the management or control of a person (other than the Executive)—

(a) at which—

(i) medical or surgical treatment for illness, injury, disability, palliative, obstetric or gynaecological care, or

(ii) a health service, is provided to a person which provision of treatment is under the direction of registered medical practitioners from at least 3 different medical specialities who are registered in the Specialist Division of the register of medical practitioners,

and

(b) which is capable of accommodating one or more persons in that hospital when providing the treatment under paragraph (a), for a minimum period of 24 hours, but does not include—

(i) a designated centre (within the meaning of the Health Act 2007 ),

(ii) a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission,

(iii) a provider of a health service who enters into an arrangement under section 38 of the Act of 2004 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Executive, or

(iv) a hospital which is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Act of 2004;

“stillborn child” has the same meaning as it has in section 2 (1) of the Civil Registration Act 2004 .