Care workers win human rights test case

Last updated at 11:25 16 November 2006


Four nurses have won a High Court human rights challenge against "unfair and unjust" Government measures introduced to protect vulnerable people from ill-treatment by care workers.

Their lawyers argued the four were wrongly denied the right of a hearing when they were provisionally prevented from working with vulnerable adults after questions were raised about their professional conduct.

It was a test case that could affect many other care workers.

Mr Justice Stanley Burnton ruled that the relevant measures under Part VII of the Care Standards Act 2000 were "incompatible with the right of the claimants - and no doubt others - under the European Convention on Human Rights".

The judge ruled that the four had been denied the right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the ECHR.

He said the care standards provisions were "disproportionate in their adverse effects on the rights of care workers".

The procedures laid down by the Act in relation to provisional listing were also unfair because "they do not ensure due respect for the interests of care workers that are safeguarded by Article 8 (which protects a person's right to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families)".

The legal challenge was brought with the backing of the Royal College of Nursing.

Martin Spencer QC, appearing for all four, said in a recent hearing that many care workers had suffered unfairness and injustice after being provisionally placed on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List (PoVA), introduced under legislation that took effect in July 2004.

A PoVA provisional listing effectively prevents nurses and care workers from working in care homes, including old people's accommodation, or with vulnerable adults needing assistance in their own homes.

The ban continued over many months pending a final decision on whether their listing was to be confirmed.

The nurses bringing the challenge were June Wright, from Banbury, Oxon; Khemraj Jummun, from Kidlington, Oxford; Barbara Gambier, of Rolvenden, Cranbrook, Kent; and Mary Quinn, from Coxheath, Kent.

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