A $12.9m investment towards diet in aged care homes was announced on Monday
A $12.9m investment expected to lift the standards of aged care in the country was announced by federal Aged Care Minister Anika Wells in Cairns on Monday. Find out more.
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A multimillion-dollar investment in the way the aged care sector approaches food and diet is one way the federal government is hoping to stamp out malnourishment among the elderly.
The $12.9m funding boost, part of a $36bn aged care budget, was announced at Infinite Aged Care’s Edmonton Gardens facility on Monday and is expected to deliver a range of measures to enhance the quality of food for older people by establishing a food unit in the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
A support unit will help link aged care providers with resources and education programs delivered by accredited practising dietitians, among other measures.
Senator Nita Green praised the recent budget’s focus on taking care of “our more vulnerable Australians” and expressed gratitude to Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells for visiting regional and remote aged care facilities to hear about their issues.
“It (the budget) made sure we could deliver for the big things people in Far North Queensland have been calling for,” she said.
“To strengthen Medicare. We saw that with the investment in the bulk billing consentium.
“We also saw an incredibly important investment in aged care.”
Cairns-based Dietitians Australia President Tara Diversi said the initiative was “really welcome” by their team as it would encourage personalised nutrition.
“This allows for aged care facilities to employ an accredited practising dietitian because what we know is what is good for one person may not be good for someone else.”
She emphasised their work was a lot more complex than simply what is the best food.
The environment, timing of food, temperature of food, and packaging of food besides other factors all had an impact on residents and dietitians could now work together with aged care workers for the best outcomes, she said.
Ms Wells said they chose Cairns for the big food announcement in recognition of Ms Diversi’s collaborative efforts in lifting the standards of food in aged care.
“From July, there will be a hotline where if you are a resident or family member or a worker who is concerned about the food that you are seeing on the plates of a resident that you love, you can call the hotline that will be answered at the commission for quality and safety by dietitian and nutrition experts who can help you triage that and escalate it where needed.”
She said there was also money set aside for spot checks in facilities at risk across the country and money towards 500 menu and mealtime assessments to be conducted by independent practising dietitians to increase aged care providers’ ability to deliver nutritionally balanced menus.
“The Royal Commision at the time of assessment nearly five years ago said more than 70 per cent of residents are malnourished. We want that to end.”
Ms Wells also called attention to the issue of workforce shortages in regional remote areas.
“It’s not just the know-how and resources, we need the staff,” she said.
“We need to get more workers into the area, which is why we have funded in full the 15 per cent pay rise for aged care workers in the budget.”
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Originally published as A $12.9m investment towards diet in aged care homes was announced on Monday
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