4 “district or general hospital” means any Government hospital other than a central or provincial hospital designated by the Minister by notice in the Gazette and includes a mission hospital or any State-aided hospital that is so designated; "fixed date" means the date fixed in terms of section 1(2) as the date of commencement of this Act; "Government hospital" means a central, provincial, district or general hospital; “Health Service” means the services constituted by the persons referred to in section 9; “Health Service Secretariat” includes all administrative staff of the Health Service Board; "hospital management board" means any hospital management board established in terms of section 19; “member”, in relation to the Health Service, means a person employed in the Health Service, including a person employed under contract in terms of section 15; “Minister” means the Minister of Health and Child Welfare or any other Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act; “mission hospital” means a private hospital sponsored by any religious body; “pension benefit” means any pension, commutation of a pension, gratuity or other similar allowance or benefit or any refund of pension contributions, including any interest payable thereon, payable to a person in respect of his or her service as a member of the Health Service or in respect of any ill-health or injury arising out of and in the course of his or her official duties as such a member or for a dependant or personal representative of such person in respect of such service, ill-health or injury or on the death of such person; “provincial hospital” means any hospital ⎯ (a) listed in Part II of the First Schedule; or (b) designated by the Minister by notice in a statutory instrument amending Part II of the First Schedule; “recognised association or organisation” means an association or organisation declared to be a recognised association or recognised organisation, as the case may be, in terms of section 16(1); “service regulations” means regulations made in terms of section 26 regulating conditions of service of members of the Health Service; “State-aided hospital” means any private hospital, including a mission hospital, which receives a grant from the State and includes a mission hospital. PART II HEALTH SERVICE BOARD 3 Establishment of Health Service Board There is hereby established a board to be known as the Health Service Board which shall be a body corporate capable of suing and being sued in its own name and, subject to this Act, of