Who? Helen Caulfield, solicitor and policy adviser at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Why is she in the news? She has just won a judicial review (subject to appeal) of the government's listing scheme under the Care Standards Act 2000 for the protection of vulnerable adults.


She achieved this by challenging the legitimacy of the scheme as it applied to four nurses who had been placed, following a disciplinary procedure, on the list of people considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults. 'Vulnerable' in this context meant any adult in need of medical care, suffering anything from a trivial complaint through to a terminal illness or mental condition. There had been no hearing, and yet by virtue of being on the list the four nurses were disqualified from following their chosen profession and were suffering stigma and financial hardship.


Ms Caulfield argued that the scheme was incompatible with article 6 (the right to a fair trial) and article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr Justice Stanley Burnton agreed. Three of Ms Caulfield's four clients have now been taken off the list.


Background: After the University of Leicester and the College of Law in Chester, Ms Caulfield did her articles at London firm Hamlin Slowe. There followed a stint overseas, including humanitarian work in Ghana and Nigeria, before she joined the RCN in 1990.


Route to the case: The RCN is the trade body for nurses.


Thoughts on the case: 'Even when the legislation was still in Bill form, I knew it was flawed and had argued against it for nurses. One cause for frustration was that there was already a perfectly adequate regulatory system for dealing with nurses. It had been developed over 80 years and the new law simply introduced duplication. It was, and is, excessive government-imposed regulation which is inconsistent with or contradicts other regulatory systems.


'In relation to the individual nurses, I'm dismayed by the financial and emotional hardship they suffered. The stigma devastated their reputation and confidence as nurses. In total, the RCN has around 50 nurses who are either still going through or have been through this nightmare.'


Dealing with the media: 'It's very valuable to talk to the press. Journalists are genuinely interested in getting to the story behind the headlines. And I find it useful to work with them to unpick the issues at the core of the matter. I'm sorry that the nurses didn't want to talk to the press. Talking just to the solicitor dilutes the impact, whereas personal anguish makes good copy.'