More than a dozen nurses and midwives who should have been banned from treating patients continued to work after the regulator failed to properly assess them over a 12-year period.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) apologised for the failing, describing it as 'completely and utterly unacceptable'.
The NMC maintains a register of more than 860,000 staff that are eligible to practise. Nurses and midwives must declare any health or character issues that may prevent them being able to practise safely, which are then referred to an assistant registrar to assess.
It emerged in February that over the 12 years applications which included declarations were not consistently referred to an assistant registrar.
And up to 15 nurses or midwives who should have been removed from the register have been allowed to continue practising. The NMC expects they will be removed from the register following a review.
