A nurse has been suspended for 12 months, after being found drunk while working at a Nantwich care home.

Karen Jane Makinson, 59, was working at Church House Nursing Home on Coole Lane, Austerson, in June 2024 when colleagues became concerned about her behaviour.

The 200-year-old former farmhouse care home has 44 beds and provides care for vulnerable residents, including people with dementia.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel heard Makinson was the only nurse working at the home during the shift.

Colleagues described her as swaying and struggling to walk, while she was also said to have laughed at things that were not funny.

The home manager, Robert Hammond, told the hearing he could smell alcohol on her breath.

Mr Hammond took her car keys after finding out she had driven to work and refused to let her drive home.

A senior carer then helped Makinson book a taxi because she was unable to use her phone properly.

The NMC panel heard Makinson denied being under the influence of alcohol at work.

During an investigation, she admitted having two glasses of wine with lunch around eight hours before her shift.

She suggested she may have appeared unsteady because she was using her phone while walking.

Makinson also said she could not book a taxi herself because she was unfamiliar with a recently downloaded app.

The panel rejected her explanations, describing her account as "implausible".

It concluded Makinson was "extremely intoxicated" and that her coordination, judgement and behaviour had been affected by alcohol.

The panel said this meant she would have been unlikely to recognise a patient whose condition was deteriorating or respond properly in an emergency.

It found that vulnerable residents were therefore placed at a "significant risk of harm".

Makinson was dismissed by Church House Nursing Home 10 days after the incident.

The NMC found her fitness to practise was impaired and imposed a 12-month suspension order.

Two other allegations concerning medication stock counts were not proved.

The NMC hearing took place in September 2026, with the panel's decision published on September 11.

The suspension prevents Makinson from working as a registered nurse during the 12-month order.

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