A Watford care home failed to provide adequate care as one carer was believed to be drinking gin and wine on the job, an ombudsman report concluded.

ProMedica24, at Station Road, was told to apologise to a family affected by the inadequate care and to waive its fees for the family from the date of the incident.

It was found that around February and March last year, the typical live-in carer for an unidentified elderly woman with dementia was removed from the contract because they were inexperienced and could not cope.

A replacement carer was issued, but the elderly woman was said to be under distress on April 17 when the woman’s daughter claims to have found the carer drinking alcohol and “behaving inappropriately”.

The carer called the on-call team that day to say she was not coping with the elderly woman and wanted to go home, but later changed her mind.

Later, the woman’s daughter says she checked up on the two, and found the elderly woman distressed – while the carer was crying and incomprehensible, unsteady on her feet and with a strong stench of alcohol.

The allegedly intoxicated carer then fell down a set of stairs, hurting her ankle. Later the carer was said to repeatedly swear at the woman’s son – who was also in attendance – before the carer passed out.

A gin bottle that was three quarters empty was found on the floor, as well as a bottle of wine in the back of a cupboard.

The care manager asked the carer if she had been drinking, and the carer poured some of gin over hands claiming she used it to clean her hands.

The carer was then suspended on the same day and an internal investigation was underway.

On April 24, it was confirmed the carer was subject to an internal disciplinary process and the care home offered 14 days’ reduction of the charges for the notice period.

While the daughter says she could smell alcohol on the carer’s breath, the care home says it cannot substantiate the claim and the carer denied drinking alcohol.

The Ombudsman report concluded: “Regardless of whether Ms Z (the carer) was drunk, I find her behaviour was inappropriate and unacceptable when caring for a vulnerable person.”

The family were then forced to take time off to care for the elderly woman, before relocating her to another care home at an additional cost.

In a complaint issued to the ombudsman, the isolation from lockdown during this time contributed to the woman’s distress.

A spokesperson for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said: “People employing care workers to look after vulnerable elderly relatives do so with the expectation their loved ones will get the best possible care available.

“In this case we found the care fell well short of what the family should have rightly expected, and we have asked the provider to remedy the situation by apologising and waiving some of the fees it charged the family.”