How To Appeal

Who Can Appeal to the Board

Section 46(1) of the Hospital Act sets out the purpose of the Hospital Appeal Board as follows:

46 (1) The Hospital Appeal Board, consisting of the members appointed under subsection (4), is continued for the purpose of providing practitioners appeals from

(a) a decision of a board of management that modifies, refuses, suspends, revokes or fails to renew a practitioner’s permit to practise in a hospital, or
(b) the failure or refusal of a board of management to consider and decide on an application for a permit.

Section 1 of the Hospital Act defines a practitioner as “a person registered as a member of a prescribed health profession”, and section 2 of the Hospital Act Regulation sets out the list of prescribed health professions.

The Notice of Appeal

There is no special form for a notice to start an appeal but it must be done in writing and it must contain all of the information set out in section 46(3.3) of the Hospital Act as follows:

46 (3.3) A notice of appeal must

(a) be in writing or in another form authorized by the rules of the Hospital Appeal Board and directed to the chair of that board,
(b) set out the grounds for appeal,
(c) state whether or not the appellant waives an oral hearing of the matter,
(d) state the outcome requested,
(e) contain the name, address and telephone number of the appellant, and, if the appellant has an agent to act on the appellant’s behalf in respect of the appeal, the name of the agent and a telephone number at which the agent may be contacted during regular business hours,
(f) include an address for delivery of notices in respect of the appeal,
(g) be signed by the appellant or the appellant’s agent,
(h) include reference to any correspondence, documents and memoranda relating to the matter in issue, and
(i) if applicable, include a copy of the order or decision being appealed.

To file a Notice of Appeal, Appellants may hand deliver, mail, fax or email the Notice of Appeal to:

The Hospital Appeal Board
Attention: The Director
4th Floor, 747 Fort Street
Victoria BC V8W 3E9
Email: info@bcchab.ca

*Please note, the Board’s preferred method for filing a Notice of Appeal is by email.

Time Limit to File Appeal

Section 46 (3.2) of the Hospital Act sets out the following timelines for filing a Notice of Appeal:

46 (3.2) A practitioner who wishes to appeal under subsection (2.1) must deliver the notice of appeal

(a) if the appeal concerns a board’s decision under subsection (2.1) (a), not later than 90 days after the date that the board caused a notice of its decision to be sent to the practitioner, or
(b) if the appeal concerns a board’s decision under subsection (2.1) (b), not later than 210 days after the date that the practitioner applied for a permit in the prescribed manner.

*If you are considering appeal to the Hospital Appeal Board, be sure to file your Notice of Appeal on time as the Board does not generally have the ability to extend the time for filing [Hospital Act Section 46(3.6)]*

Additional Avenues of Review

The decisions of the Hospital Appeal Board are final and conclusive within their jurisdiction and are not open to appeal (see section 46 (3.1) of the Hospital Act). However, the parties to the appeal may seek further redress, in certain circumstances, if they believe the HAB acted outside its jurisdiction or the appeal process was unfair, as follows: