New hotline to dob in substandard nursing home food

The federal government is creating a new ‘hotline’ that will allow nursing home resident and their families dob in provider that are offering substandard food.

Up to 500 menu assessments will be undertaken by nutritionists to build nursing home providers’ understanding and capability of what are nutritionally balanced meals for the vulnerable people they look after.

Nursing home residents or their loved ones will soon be able to dob in aged-care homes for serving substandard meals, with the establishment of a new “hotline” for complaints.

More than 700 new “spot checks” will also be conducted each year on residential aged-care providers, with “at risk” homes specifically targeted, to ensure they are offering nutritious meals for residents.

And up to 500 menu assessments will be undertaken by nutritionists to build nursing home providers’ understanding and capability of what are nutritionally balanced meals for the vulnerable cohort they look after.

The initiatives will be delivered through a new Food, Nutrition and Dining Advisory Support unit contained within the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The unit, to be staffed by nutrition experts including dietitians, will be funded through a new $12.9m commitment in the federal budget.

The new hotline for complaints and advice will begin operating in July and will triage calls based on the level of risk to older people.

Aged care was one of the largest spending elements in the budget. It will cost $32.7bn this year, rising to almost $40bn by 2026-27. The increase includes an $11.3bn boost to nurses and aged-care worker wages after an interim Fair Work Commission decision awarded a 15 per cent pay increase to about 250,000 workers in the sector.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the government was “committed to ensuring everyone living in residential aged care receives nutritious meals”.

“Older people have a right to enjoy quality food and will now have a simple way to report inadequate food,” Ms Wells said. “(This new funding) will increase the capability and accountability of aged-care providers to deliver good food and nutrition.”

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Ms Wells said dietetic experts would be part of the team of nutritionists in the new support unit. “We recognise the need to work lock-step with dietitians to lift the quality of food and nutrition in residential aged care.”

Dietitians Australia president Tara Diversi said the new program showed the government was “committed to taking the actions needed to advance the nutrition needs of Australians in residential aged care”.

“(It) will enable more of us to reach and support nutrition management at the homes where it is needed most,” Ms Diversi said. “Better nutrition in aged care is a health investment that ultimately reduces the risk of malnutrition, dehydration, falls, pressure injuries, wounds, and hospitalisations to residents in care.”

Improving nutrition was one of the key recommendations of the aged-care royal commission’s final report in February 2021. Dietitians Australia in September called on the federal government to implement mandatory nutrition screening in nursing homes.