Book Description: How do you choose a care home for a relative or friend? The care home may look perfect in the brochure, but is that a true reflection of what it's like to live there? Can the manager's claims be trusted? Written by an insider who's worked in care for sixteen years, this book will show you how to tell if all is really as it seems. Are the home's residents looked upon as people, or just as money generators? Will your mum be allowed something to drink in the evening, or will she be left thirsty just so that she won't need the lavatory in the night?

This is a book for anyone with a relative or friend in residential care. It's also a book for current and future residents and the carers who look after them. 'Behind those care home doors' will show you what to really look for in a care home and how to check the standards of care provided and what to do if things go wrong. The author describes her front line experiences of abusive behaviours and harrowing standards of care, often from senior staff. She questions why carers who have the most contact with patients are frequently ignored when they raise concerns. Typical care home fees are equal to a staying in a good hotel with a private nurse and yet many homes are cutting staff to inappropriate levels.

The author describes working in a care home with fees in excess of 900 per week and a menu promising smoked mackerel paté, homemade crusty bread and salad while the staff were obliged to serve muffin and chips, fish fingers and spaghetti hoops, out of date food, and mean portions. If you're contemplating working in a care home 'Behind those care home doors' will give you an insight and help you to decide whether care is the right career for you physically and emotionally. This book would also make valuable reading for care home managers and owners who may be finding the day to day pressures within their organisation are leading to decisions they know to be wrong.