Government data reveals food score for every NSW aged care home, residents have their say

A Sydney aged care home has been rated as the lowest in the country for its food. See how it compares to other homes in the state.

Food at a Sydney aged care home has been rated by residents who gave it the lowest score in the country.

Half of the residents surveyed at Uniting Westmead said they never liked what they were served, while a further 28 per cent said they only liked the food some of the time.

The government data shows Uniting Westmead came bottom of the pack out of all aged care homes in the country with a score of 1.78 out of a maximum of four.

Wyoming Nursing Home in Summer Hill didn’t fare much better, and was rated second last in NSW with a score of just two. There, 43 per cent said they never liked the food.

Uniting Westmead: Retirement home in Westmead, New South Wales. Picture: Uniting Westmead.

The data was collated from at least 10 per cent of residents from each home who were asked, “Do you like the food here?” Overall the views of 20 per cent of all residents in aged care were surveyed.

From that pool, the government gave every home a ‘food score’. It’s the first time homes can be compared. However, some homes said the ‘food score’ was unfair because the sample size was too small.

At Uniting Westmead an audit report released in December by the aged care watchdog found that the home was non-compliant on whether food was varied and of suitable quality, with residents complaining meals were overcooked and the menu repetitive.

One resident revealed his family had to bring in supplementary food.

The audit also said “management reported a trend in complaints about food”, but were seeking to rectify the issue.

Dietitians Australia CEO Robert Hunt said it was important to ask residents whether they liked the food as it gives some insight into the overall food satisfaction.

He said in some homes the ratings were “appalling”.

Dietitians Australia CEO Robert Hunt.

“It is incredibly distressing for families to see this information, particularly those who do not have a choice of where their older loved ones can live due to cost or location,” Mr Hunt said.

“However – a food satisfaction rating is not a measurement of the nutritional quality of the overall menu in a home.

“The only way data can be collected on this is through engaging an accredited practising dietitian to do an on-site menu and mealtime assessment.”

The data was extracted on January 23 from the government’s new Star Ratings.

Grace Munro centre in Bundarra was rated the best in the state for its food, with a score of 4, one of only two homes in the country to get a perfect score.

An example of a meal at an unnamed aged care home.

A spokesman for Uniting Westmead said it scored 3 stars overall in the government’s Star Ratings, meaning it was meeting standards, but accepted that residents had given the food a low rating.

“Uniting questions whether the residents’ response to this question means Westmead is the worst aged care home for food,” the spokesman said.

“Such a judgment should include a range of factors like variety, quality, nutrition as well as personal preferences.

“As soon as we learnt of this dissatisfaction about food, like we do with all feedback provided, we acknowledged the concern and set about making improvements.”

Uniting Westmead supplied a photo of a meal from January 27, 2023, to show what they typically offer residents. Picture: Supplied

Wyoming Nursing Home was approached for comment.

A spokesman from the Department of Health and Aged Care said the surveys are undertaken annually by an independent workforce, which “use a global best practice quantitative research methodology”.

A separate government spokesman said it was improving transparency by asking 20 per cent of residents their thoughts on the food and including this, as well as quality indicator information impacted by food including weight loss, falls and pressure injury in the Star Ratings.

JULIE CROSS: AGED CARE FOOD ‘IS A TRAVESTY’

COMMENT: Food in aged care homes has been a contentious, emotive, issue for decades.

It’s also a hidden issue because residents fear if they speak out they will be thrown out.

Occasionally photos of meals find their way into the public domain, either from an aged care home insider or an angry relative of a resident.

Inevitably it will be a photo of unappetising slop or a plate of beige; cheap party pies, chips and rice. Meals completely lacking in protein and nutrients.

But not all homes are equal.

Some are doing a fabulous job.

Examples of a meal in aged care homes.

Our analysis of the government’s ‘food score’ for each home shows that it is based on a survey of at least 10 per cent of residents answering one question, “Do you like the food here?” The government said overall one in five residents across all of the aged care homes were surveyed.

Some aged care homes that have come bottom of the list argue that it is unfair for them to be judged on what a small percentage of the residents say. They say results are outdated.

But it must be noted that, importantly, for the first time residents are having their voices heard; whether one, two or 22 of them.

And just one person saying that they never like the food is a travesty. For half the surveyed residents to say that at Uniting Westmead, which received the lowest rating in the country, is unacceptable.

Yes, the Star Ratings is not perfect, the government accepts that.

But it is a work in progress and hopefully it will lead to change and meals that residents look forward to eating.

*Data about food ratings in this story is taken from every aged care facility that completed an official report and submitted it to the government’s star ratings system. Some facilities did not have any data at time of publication.

Originally published as Government data reveals food score for every NSW aged care home, residents have their say