Best and worst food in Queensland aged care homes revealed

Aged care staff have been told to do one thing after residents rated the food the worst in the state. See the food score for your aged care home.

Aged care staff have been instructed to taste the lunch meals before they’re served to residents after they rated the food the worst in the state.

It comes after three quarters of residents surveyed at the Churches of Christ Brig-o-doon Aged Care Service in Acacia Ridge said they either never liked the food or only sometimes liked the food in a national survey.

A Churches of Christ spokeswoman said it had acted swiftly to improve meals, with the previous cook no longer working for the organisation.

She said as well as the service manager being required to now taste the food, the menu had also been changed to include more protein options and hospitality staff had been retrained.

Churches of Christ Brig-o-doon Aged Care Service.

“All of the above changes have had a positive impact on the residents, and all indications show they are happy with the meals served at Brig-o-doon,” the spokeswoman said.At the state’s second lowest rated home, almost one in five residents at Bolton Clarke Fernhill in Caboolture said they never liked the food.

Bolton Clarke Chief Operating Officer – Residential Aged Care Glenn Hancock said Fernhill was surveyed last June, but the most recent audit in January, found all standards were met and inspectors reported that residents and representatives said the “meals provided were of good quality, varied and there was plenty of food provided at mealtimes and in between meals”.

Some of the worst food served in aged care homes.

Southern Cross Care Allora, in Allora, got the highest mark in Queensland, with 88 per cent of residents saying they always liked the food.

Every home in the country was given a food score after up to 20 per cent, or more than 37,000 aged care residents across Australia, were asked the question, ‘Do you like the food here?’ as part of an annual national survey, undertaken by an independent team on behalf of the federal government.

The answers were collected last year, but only published in full last week.

Some of the worst food served in aged care homes.

The residents’ experience survey results are important because they carry a 33 per cent weighting towards the overall Star Ratings score for each home.

Dietitian Dr Cherie Hugo from the Lantern Alliance goes into aged care homes to help improve the food experience.

She said sometimes it’s not about how much you spend, or how fancy it looks, but it’s about serving food people want or are familiar with and making the dining experience enjoyable.

Dietitian Dr Cherie Hugo from the Lantern Alliance goes into aged care homes to help improve the food experience.

Having the TV on loud, or people being given their medication during their meal, can really ruin the moment. In one facility she worked with, changes saw half of residents with long term malnutrition, reversed.

“Food is the foundation of most of the woes in aged care,” Dr Hugo said.

“We want more food in the bellies and less in the bin.”

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission received around 750 food complaints via a hotline and their website or email, between late July and March 1, and in most cases providers addressed the identified problem without further action needed.

It’s not just in Queensland where some homes need to improve the food experience.

A 68-year-old, in an aged care facility in Adelaide, said he spends $100 a week on Uber Eats because most of the food he is served is either processed or tinned.

“Vegetables have been usually boiled to the max and are tasteless and bland,” he said.

“Any form of fruit salad is from a tin, never any kind of quality fresh fruit.”He said the menu reads well, but it rarely matched the food delivered.

The Food, Nutrition and Dining Hotline [phone].

AND ONE OF THE BEST

Food is the hottest topic of conversation at this aged care home with “what’s on the menu” the most popular item on the agenda at the monthly residents’ consultation meeting.

“We know if we can get the food right, then we are going to get everything else right,” Katerina Kouris, manager of The Greek Community Home For The Aged said.

“We don’t have weight loss here, unless someone is unwell. People actually come in and gain weight.”Stuffed capsicum and tomato.

Chef Panayiotis Giannakopoulos with resident Adele Koutsoukos. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Some of the good food served at the Greek Community Home For The Aged. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

She said the home caters for their residents’ tastes - and they want Greek food.

Chef Panayaiotis Giannakopoulos serves up dishes such as fish and horta vrasta and pork with lettuce and white egg lemon sauce - favourites with the centre’s 48 Greek residents.

Ms Kouris said the dining room is light and airy with a pretty outlook and a beautiful picture of Greece on the wall.

“It’s all very Greek and the aroma of the food in the dining room is always delicious,” she said.The Sydney home was the 21st highest rated facility in the country.

Seven out of 10 residents said they “always” liked the food, while the rest liked it “most of the time”.

BEST AND WORST RATED

Queensland’s highest rated 5

1. Southern Cross Care Allora, ALLORA 3.88/4
2. Southern Cross Care Taroom - Leichhardt Village, TAROOM 3.83/4
3. Ridgehaven Retirement Complex, MONTO 3.77/4
4. Taralga Retirement Village Hostel, JANDOWAE 3.67/4
5. Nirvana Hostel, CLIFTON 3.67/4

Queensland’s lowest rated 5

1. Churches of Christ Brig-o-doon Aged Care Service, ACACIA RIDGE 2.12/4
2. Bolton Clarke Fernhill, CABOOLTURE 2.14/4
3. Blue Care Arundel Woodlands Lodge Aged Care Facility, ARUNDEL 2.14/4
4. Ozcare - Hervey Bay, HERVEY BAY 2.25/4
5. Bundaleer Lodge Nursing Home, NORTH IPSWICH 2.31/4
   

Originally published as Best and worst food in Queensland aged care homes revealed