Background: Over a fifth of the population of developed countries die in care homes. Within the UK a number of national end-of-life care documents have been introduced to guide such care provision. Whilst studies are emerging on the outcomes of care in the last few weeks of life, few report on the experience as perceived by the family members. As part of a wider study to improve the delivery of end-of-life care, bereaved relatives of residents who had died at the care home/hospital were sent the Family Perception of Care Scale in order to address this. Aim: To evaluate the experience of care provision in the last month of life as perceived by bereaved relatives. Design: A cross-sectional design Setting: Nursing care homes in southeast England. Participants: Bereaved relatives of residents within 37 nursing care homes implementing the Gold Standards Framework in Care Homes programme. Methods: The Family Perception of Care Scale questionnaire was posted to bereaved relatives, from 37 nursing care homes, 3-6 months following the resident's death. The questionnaires were posted over a 15month period from October 2009-December 2010. Results: A total of 869 questionnaires were posted with a 42% response rate. A global question within the FPC scale looking at the overall satisfaction with the quality of end of life care (Q24) indicated that bereaved relatives were satisfied with the care provided. However, qualitative responses from family members highlight underlying issues with: communication and relationships in care homes; poor professional teamwork; aspects of dying; and, spiritual care. 3 Conclusions: The qualitative data from these questionnaires provides an important insight into care provision at the end-of-life within these care homes.