A nurse who went to work so drunk that she was swaying as she walked through a nursing home providing care for end-of-life residents has been suspended. Karen Jane Makinson was the only nurse on shift at Church House Nursing Home in Nantwich, Cheshire, when she was so "extremely intoxicated" that she needed help from colleagues to book a taxi home after her manager refused to let her drive.
Unfit to respond in an emergency
The care home nurse was intoxicated to the extent that she would have been "unlikely to respond in an emergency situation", putting residents at "significant risk of harm". The incident took place on June 4, 2024, and following a Nursing and Midwifery Council tribunal, Makinson has now been suspended. She was dismissed 10 days later, on June 14, 2024, but she denied the allegations against her.
Her colleagues told the panel that Makinson was laughing at things that weren't funny, and was also swaying as she walked through the 44-bed facility. She also struggled to walk down stairs. Noticing her impaired state, home manager Robert Hammond said he took Makinson's car keys from her to prevent her from driving home. A senior carer then had to help her order a taxi because she "simply could not co-ordinate to move her fingers on her phone to book a taxi home".
Explanation found implausible
Makinson said, during a probationary interview, that she had had two glasses of wine at lunchtime around eight hours before her shift. She explained her unsteadiness may have been because she was answering a text on her phone while walking. Regarding the incident where she was unable to book herself a taxi, she said this was because she was unfamiliar with the app, which had recently been downloaded. The panel found her statement "implausible" and accepted the other witnesses' evidence.
The tribunal concluded that it was more likely than not that Makinson went to work when she was unfit to carry out her duties as a nurse safely as she was under the influence of alcohol. The allegation that she was staggering or swaying when walking was also found proved.
Serious misconduct
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 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 Makinson's fitness to practise was currently impaired and ordered a 12-month suspension. Church House Nursing Home provides care for residents with dementia, who are prone to strokes or are receiving end-of-life care.
