news
Food for thought
Are our elderly really fed
worse than prisoners?
By Kirstie Chlopicki
A
report that claims Australia’s
elderly receive worse meals than
the nation’s prisoners has sparked
debate across the aged care industry.
The report, What Does it Cost to Feed
Aged Care Residents in Australia?, published
recently in Nutrition & Dietetics, reveals that
some nursing homes spend just $6 a day
on meals per resident.
“Data was compiled from 817 residential
aged care facilities, representing 64,256
residential beds,” the report stated.
“The average total spend in Australian
dollars on catering consumables was
eight dollars per resident per day, and six
dollars when looking at the raw food and
ingredients budget alone.
“Additional data from over half of the
residential aged care facilities indicates a
5 per cent decrease in food cost over the
last year – particularly in fresh produce
– with a simultaneous 128 per cent
increase in cost for supplements and food
replacements.
“Current figures are comparatively
less than aged care food budgets
internationally (US, UK and Canada),
less than community-dwelling older
adults ($17.25 per day) and 136 per cent
less than Australian corrective services
($8.25 per day).”
Australian Medical Association president
Dr Michael Gannon was one of the first
ports of call for comment, and said the
statistics were unfortunate but reflected a
deep-rooted problem regarding attitudes
towards aged care.
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agedcareinsite.com.au
“My reaction was one of shock initially,
and yet sadly it fits in with a picture of
not paying enough attention to the care
of our elderly,” Dr Gannon said.
“Aged care facilities are a problem
and the accreditation systems are not
protecting all of the residents.
“[To be spending so little on meals]
they must be falling short somewhere
in terms of appropriate ingredients or
fresh ingredients.
“It’s entirely appropriate that people in
residential aged care facilities get healthy
and nourishing meals. So many of them
have so much to contribute; it’s the least
we owe people in their autumn years.”
Dr Gannon said the study assessed 800
aged care providers across the country,
and the results showed changes needed to
be made to the industry.
“I think there’s a responsibility to beef up
the accreditation of these facilities,” he said.
“I know from personally speaking to the
minister for aged care, Ken Wyatt, that he
found the Oakford report in Adelaide very
distressing. We’ve got a long way to go
before we can say that we as a society do
the right thing in looking after our aged.
“There are rules in terms of minimum
standards of accommodation, minimum
standards of access to healthcare, and
we need to look at the minimum standards
of nutrition.
“I suspect that what we’ll see in coming
years is the bar lifted higher in terms of
nurse/resident ratios – I think that’s a
good thing.”
Meanwhile, LASA chief executive
Sean Rooney hit back at media reports
comparing nursing home meals to those
served in prisons, and maintained that
nutrition is a key consideration in the
accreditation of Australian nursing homes.
“Outcome 2.10 in the standards asks
whether care recipients receive adequate
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