Two years after releasing their Final Report, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety continues to shake up the aged care industry. To further improve aged care catering in care homes nationwide, the Commission has set up the Food, Nutrition, and Dining Advisory Support Unit (referred to as the Food Unit). One of the key functions of the Food Unit is operating the 24/7 Aged Care Food Quality Complaints Hotline that went live in late July, aimed at putting the tools of reform in the hands of residents and their families.
Dishing up quality in aged care
Food is more than just what we consume to keep ourselves alive; it’s a central part of our lives, an expression of our culture, our values, and our passions. The day-to-day lives of aged care residents can be relatively quiet ones, and this makes the social and cultural importance of their mealtimes all the more apparent.
As residents spend so much of their day dining, the quality of the mealtime experience is inextricably linked to their quality of life. The Commission found that the quality and variety of food and beverages offered to residents dramatically and directly affected their self-reported satisfaction. Additionally, responding to individual preference by providing agency of choice and providing a perceptively high quality food service were all factors that led to better health and wellbeing outcomes for residents. 1
With this in mind, a strong catering service that provides quality meals is more than just a point in a facility’s favour; it’s absolutely essential to protecting the health and happiness of your residents. Cater Care’s team of expert dietitians carefully design all our meals and menus to be as varied and stimulating as they are healthy, and we’re pleased to say that our residents reap the benefits.
Building a healthy foundation
Maintaining good nutrition is important throughout our lives, particularly as we age and become more susceptible to health issues. The health benefits of ensuring ageing citizens receive the nutritional care they need are numerous; sufficient and varied intake of key nutrients and minerals can help support our immune system, protect us from disease, aid our bodies in healing, and substantially improve our psychological wellbeing—just to name a few 2.
Although there are a number of ways to ensure residents get the nutritional support they need, here at Cater Care, we employ an expert team of in-house dietitians to design our menus to support residents in living their best lives. Our meals are planned and prepared in accordance with the Australian Guidelines for Healthy Eating, and wherever necessary, we’re more than happy to tweak meal plans to suit any specific needs our partners might have.
Empowering change: the role of the Complaints Hotline
In addition to working to improve industry standards by supporting and educating care providers, the Food Unit also empowers consumers through the newly established Aged Care Food Quality Complaints Hotline; a quick and easy way for anyone to make an anonymous or public complaint about the aged care catering in a facility anywhere in Australia.
This hotline has been tasked with triaging calls based on the nature of the alleged breach of elderly nutrition standards and the level of risk that this breach could pose to older residents. From there, the Food Unit has the authority to coordinate up to 720 care provider spot checks per year, with the 10% of those deemed to be the highest risk to residents to be accompanied by pracitising accredited dietitians for a thorough compliance check of every area of their catering 3.
Alarmingly, a landmark study conducted shortly prior to the Commission being established found that a staggering 68% of Australian aged care residents in surveyed facilities were either at risk of being malnourished 4 or already malnourished. It is our hope that the establishment of the Food Unit and its complaint hotline will help prevent malnutrition from reaching such dire levels in aged care homes ever again.
The practical implications of this new tool are immense. By opening this avenue of direct contact, the Commission has given the public an active role in helping to raise the standards of catering across the nation. A range of anonymous and public reporting operations accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time, empowers everyone involved in the aged care system to voice their concerns to a body that can take direct corrective action.
Nourishing a growing future
While the prospect of a 24/7 dedicated complaints hotline may seem intimidating to some care providers, here at Cater Care we’re optimistic about the broader benefits that this could bring to the aged care catering industry. By empowering the consumers of aged care to pressure providers to improve their offerings, we’re hopeful that this will lead to a culture of continual improvement within the industry. By promoting transparency and accountability in aged care food service, we’re hopeful that this change will foster a culture of continual and competitive improvement within the aged care industry.
Cater Care fully endorses this expansion of the Commission, and we’re excited to see how this can continue to positively impact the development of aged care catering solutions in Australia. If you’re interested in learning more about how Cater Care plans to continue to keep its catering services ahead of the curve, or areas that your own catering might need to touch up on to stay relevant, get in touch with Jonathan, our Aged Care catering services expert, at the details below.
Jonathan Storer
Client Development Manager – Cater Care
Ph: 0424 190 566
jonathan.storer@catercare.com.au
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