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

One in five aged care residents reported never liking the food at one Queensland facility, which got the lowest score in the state. See how the state’s facilities rated.

For the first time Queensland aged care homes have been given a ‘food score’ by residents.

Bottom of the pack was Bolton Clarke Westhaven in Toowoomba, where one in five residents surveyed said they never liked what they were served, while a further 43 per cent said they only liked the food some of the time.

It achieved an overall food score of 2.21 out of four.

Bolton Clarke Tantula Rise on the Sunshine Coast had the second lowest rating in Queensland with a score of 2.24.

There, almost three in 10 residents said they never liked the food and a further 29 per cent said they only liked the food some of the time.

Aged care home Bolton Clarke Tantula Rise Sunshine Coast.

Blue Care Carina Aged Care Facility was the lowest rated home in Brisbane, coming tenth in the state overall with a rating of 2.4.

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.

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”.

“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.”

Dietitians Australia CEO Robert Hunt.

The data was extracted on January 23 from the government’s new Star Ratings, which was launched last month to help people compare the performance of homes more easily.

One of the measures that contributes to the overall Star Ratings is food.

Churches of Christ Petrie Gardens Aged Care Service in the Fraser Coast Region was one of only two homes in the country to receive a perfect score of four for its food.

The worst home in the country was in Uniting Westmead in NSW with a score of 1.78, where half of residents said they never liked the food.

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

A spokeswoman for Bolton Clarke said both the Westhaven and Tantula Rise communities received an overall four-star ratings and five-star ratings for compliance, which includes assessment of the variety, quality and quantity of meals, in the Star Ratings.

“We proactively seek feedback from our residents and are always looking for ways to support individual resident preferences – including food preferences – through check-ins such as our monthly food focus meetings,” she said.

Blue Carina Aged Care received a 4 star overall in the Star Ratings and a report found that “consumers were generally satisfied with the quality and quantity of food”.

“Consumer feedback for Star Ratings was collected in July 2022 with only 11 per cent of residents surveyed,” a spokeswoman said.

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.

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

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.

*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.