Introduction

As we have already suggested, the first three chapters of this section focus on the needs of children and of older adults, since work in institutional situations with these groups is more easily recognizable in the term ‘residential work’. This does present a number of difficulties, not least of which is the fact that many children with handicaps are likely to spend some time in hospitals as well as in residential homes. Similarly, older people are likely to move between hospital and residential homes, and many of the arguments which we apply to the experience of leaving are equally relevant to each situation. Although we have tried to deal with the different implications where they exist, we have assumed, in Chapters 4 and 5, that the principles of good practice which we discuss are equally applicable to hospitals and homes and we have avoided clumsy repetition of this proposition as far as possible.