Should care homes ban alcohol?

When it comes to booze, care homes must balance risk against quality of life, according to a new guide

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH, RACHEL TOMPKINS, JACQUI DEEVOY

YES

‘What a recipe for chaos’

Jacqui Deevoy, 61, is a freelance journalist and filmmaker from London.

Allowing alcohol in care homes doesn't make any sense to me and is surely a recipe for chaos?

My dad moved into a home in December 2019, and I was shocked to discover that the residents could drink whatever they wanted with dinner. Dad had loved red wine before his stroke, but he'd since gone off it something I thought was probably for the best. But he told me some of his fellow residents would get nasty after half a lager or a small Merlot. A few days after a visit, he called and said one of them had tried to drunkenly attack him the night before. While I don't know what happened, it made me think that alcohol in the home was a disaster waiting to happen.