Sorry about your mum's toenail, @Bikerbeth . Mine had a fall and bashed her head over Christmas while wearing sandals rather than proper shoes. It is sometimes tricky for carers to spot things and change them, but now they know about the other shoes, hopefully she'll be wearing them more often. In mum's case she likes sandals as they don't hurt her feet. With no chiropodist visits for a while I dread to think what they are like now.
As for choosing another home. It's going to be tricky without visiting, but I guess you can put your mum's name down, and hope they are open for viewings when a place comes up. Before I retired I worked in education and have been involved one way and another in a lot of OFSTED inspections. Though such reports give a useful snap shot I know they don't often tell the whole story and can either make a school seem better or worse than it really is. I'm sure the same is true of CQC reports too. As for reviews on Facebook etc, again they may be fair or maybe not. Both are useful as a guide, but a visit will give you a feel so you can make up your own mind. I didn't actually pay much attention to the reports of the three homes I visited when looking for mum. All were rated 'good', but the one I chose had a friendlier atmosphere than one, and a better mix of residents than the other. It had now got an 'outstanding', which is lovely for their publicity, but not doesn't necessarily mean it is better than it was, just that the manager knew which directions to point the inspectors in.
As for choosing another home. It's going to be tricky without visiting, but I guess you can put your mum's name down, and hope they are open for viewings when a place comes up. Before I retired I worked in education and have been involved one way and another in a lot of OFSTED inspections. Though such reports give a useful snap shot I know they don't often tell the whole story and can either make a school seem better or worse than it really is. I'm sure the same is true of CQC reports too. As for reviews on Facebook etc, again they may be fair or maybe not. Both are useful as a guide, but a visit will give you a feel so you can make up your own mind. I didn't actually pay much attention to the reports of the three homes I visited when looking for mum. All were rated 'good', but the one I chose had a friendlier atmosphere than one, and a better mix of residents than the other. It had now got an 'outstanding', which is lovely for their publicity, but not doesn't necessarily mean it is better than it was, just that the manager knew which directions to point the inspectors in.