A care home nurse has been suspended after a tribunal found she went to work “drunk” and needed help from her colleagues to book a taxi home.
Karen Jane Makinson was “extremely intoxicated” during a shift at Church House Nursing Home, Nantwich, Cheshire, on June 4 2024, putting residents at a “significant risk of harm”, a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel found.
She was swaying as she walked through the 44-bed nursing home, which provides care for residents with dementia, who are prone to strokes or are receiving end-of-life care, according to the panel.
She was dismissed on June 14 2024.
Ms Makinson denied the allegations against her.
Giving evidence to the tribunal, her colleagues described how she was laughing at things that were not funny and was swaying and struggling to walk down stairs.
Home manager Robert Hammond said he took her car keys from her after refusing to let her drive home, adding that a senior carer had to help her order a cab because she “simply could not co-ordinate to move her fingers on her phone to book a taxi home”.
During a probationary interview, Ms Makinson admitted she had had two glasses of wine at lunchtime some eight hours before her shift and said she may have appeared unsteady on her feet because she was answering a text on her phone while walking.
She also said she was unable to use her phone to book a taxi because she was unfamiliar with the recently downloaded app.
The panel found her account “implausible” and accepted the witnesses’ evidence, according to a written judgment.
They found it was more likely than not that Ms Makinson attended work when she was unfit to carry out her duties as a nurse safely as she was under the influence of alcohol.
They also found the allegation that she was staggering or swaying when walking proved.
Her actions were determined to have breached the code and amounted to misconduct.
The panel said: “The panel was of the view that in attending work as the nurse in charge and the only nurse on shift, providing clinical care to vulnerable residents whilst under the influence of alcohol, was very serious misconduct and fell far below the standards expected of a registered nurse.
“The panel concluded from the evidence that Ms Makinson was extremely intoxicated and that her co-ordination, judgment and behaviour were all adversely affected as a consequence.
“It was of the view that someone who was intoxicated to this extent would be unlikely to recognise a deteriorating patient or respond appropriately if an emergency situation arose, placing residents at a significant risk of harm.”
The panel concluded Ms Makinson’s fitness to practise was currently impaired and ordered a 12-month suspension.
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