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Nurses working in social care are to legally challenge the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list because of the length of time innocent staff can be banned from work.

They are seeking a judicial review after being included on the Pova provisional list, where social care staff can be placed - and consequently banned from work - for up to nine months without a hearing.

Under Pova guidance, people are placed on the provisional list pending further investigation, after which they are either removed or confirmed on the Pova list. If they are provisionally listed for nine months they can appeal to the Care Standards Tribunal.

A spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing said there had been cases of people provisionally listed for a long time and who had been later cleared. The college would represent any of its members involved in the judicial review.

The case is expected to be heard at the High Court in October.