tiredemma can help too!
1 FOOD When is the last meal of the day, and when is the first - if tea is at 4 and breakfast at 8.30, that's 16.5 hours without food. If they say the residents get supper, ask them to specify. Tea with a biscuit is not a meal. ask them what their policy is on food out of kitchen hours - the last place I worked, the other staff would make toast or heat soup, but other places lock the kitchen door so the staff can't eat antyhing. Ask them about fresh fruit, ask to see a copy of the menu (they should have a menu, I think it['s the law), ask about diabetic options if appropriate.
2 STAFFING ask them how many staff they have on each shift - then (and this is important) go and ask junior members of staff the same question. The legal limit is 1 memeber of staff for 10 residents, but these must be on site and not just on call, and they must all be care staff - the cleaner does not count. A well staffed home will have 4 or 5 staff in the morning and 4 in the evening for 30ish residents. Ask if the night carers have housekeeping responsibilities too - it's surprises people how much of the donkey work (veg prep, ironing, cleaning) is done by the night staff, of whom there is usually only 2. Ask about the training level of the most senior staff on EVERY shift - I was sometimes left, completely unqualified, to run a shift. Ask about percentage of staff with an NVQ2 in care at least. Ignore 'working towards' - that's a legal requirement, nothing to boast about.
3 Activities - ask how much formal entertainment is laid on for the residents, and who they book (if they flounder, they might not actually be laying any on). Ask how often this occurs. Ask what the uptake is on this - it should be fairly high - if they say the residents aren't interested, I'm afraid this sometimes means the staff can't be bothered to organise it. Ask about trips into town and ask which taxi firm they use. Make it clear she will want to go out and that you expect her to be taken out. Be aware of 'Fillers' - 'watching a dvd' is not an activity, 'reading the paper' is not an activity, ditto 'tea and biscuits in the lounge', or 'had visitors'. These should be everyday life, not special occasions.
4 specialist care Hairdresser, chiropodist, district nurse, dentist(very often gets neglected), optician, continence nurse - what arrangements are made for the residents to see these people?
5 Toileting and personal care. How often are incontinent residents taken to the toilet? HOW MANY FUNTIONALLY DISABLED ADAPTED TOILETS AND BATHS DO THEY HAVE? Ask to see these (they do usually smell, it's not evidence of lack of cleaning if they are a little bit whiffy) - and check if they are clean, is the toilet clean, is the bath clean, is the floor clean, is the bin overflowing etc. Where is personal care carried out? In the bathroom? The resident's bedroom? How often do the residents have a bath or a shower - once weekly is not actually enough, but is 'normal' because there is barely enough time to bath 30 residents on a skeleton staff even once weekly. Do they have a shower? Are all the adapted bathrooms in good working order? (often they break, and are never repaired, but left 'for show'). Ask about how the clothes are cared for, and what about items that need to be dry cleaned. Label EVERYTHING, every last pop sock. Every shoe. Glasses. Dentures if you can! Ask if she will be bathed 'when she asks' (remember, she may never ask) or on their schedule, and how often will she be prompted. How often will incontinence wear be changed, how often will she be checked at night, will they wake her to use the toilet or just leave her to wet herself. Normal 'toileting times' are on rising, after breakfast, after tea break, after lunch, after tea break, after tea, then at bed time. On demand in between all these tmes is standard practice. Someone who is known to wet the bed should be woken in the night for the toilet.
That's all I can think of right now, may be back later!