The experience of food and dining is important for residents in aged care. It has a direct effect on people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life. When people enjoy their dining experience it can lower their risks of:
- malnutrition
- dehydration
- unplanned weight loss.
Listening to people receiving aged care is an important part of improving their health and wellbeing.
Choices must be within reason– reasonably practical for the provider to deliver and meets the requirement of a provider’s legislative responsibility.
Communicating regularly with older people can help to improve food, nutrition and dining. Working with older people receiving aged care helps make sure care and services are high quality, person centred and improve health, wellbeing and quality of life. Having a resident food focus group helps providers understand older people’s preferences. It helps create dining that older people enjoy, supports their dignity, and encourages them to socialise and take part.
Other benefits include improving trust and making relationships with staff stronger. It can also encourage older people to take part in making decisions about their care and services. This helps give them a sense of control and independence.
Strengthened Quality Standards
The draft Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards focus on the importance of working with older people.
Setting up a food focus group or another way to collect feedback from older people can help you to meet these outcomes.
NOTE: The strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards are not yet in operation. They will come into effect in line with the commencement of the new Aged Care Act on 1 November 2025.
Standard 2: The organisation
Outcome 2.1 Partnering with Individuals
Outcome statement:
The provider must engage in meaningful and active partnerships with individuals to inform organisational priorities and continuous improvement.
Outcome 2.6a: Complaints and feedback management for aged care workers
Outcome statement:
The provider must encourage and support aged care workers to make complaints and give feedback about the provider’s delivery of funded aged care services, without reprisal. The provider must acknowledge and transparently manage all complaints and feedback and use complaints and feedback to contribute to the continuous improvement of funded aged care services.
Outcome 2.6b: Complaints and feedback management for individuals
Outcome statement:
The provider must encourage and support individuals and others to make complaints and give feedback about the provider’s delivery of funded aged care services, without reprisal. The provider must acknowledge and transparently manage all complaints and feedback and use complaints and feedback to contribute to the continuous improvement of funded aged care services
Standard 6: Food and nutrition
Outcome 6.1 Partnering with individuals on food and drinks
Outcome statement:
The provider must partner with individuals to deliver a quality meal and refreshment service that includes appealing and varied food and drinks and an enjoyable dining experience.
Working together is so important
Providers should support older people and give them the opportunity to have input into the services they receive. Services should be developed with, and tailored to, the older person. They should take into account each person’s needs, goals and preferences. By working with older people, providers can improve their care and services.
Getting the food and dining experience right includes working with residents to:
- understand their preferences
- support them to make choices
- create mealtimes that respect their dignity
- encourage them be involved in planning the dining experience
- support them to be social and improve their function and quality of life.
Choices must be within reason– reasonably practical for the provider to deliver and meets the requirement of a provider’s legislative responsibility.
The benefits of working with residents
Working with residents is good because it:
- supports residents’ rights under the Quality Standards
- supports person-centred care
- improves care and services, health and wellbeing and overall satisfaction
- supports change to improve practice
- improves and supports professional and trusting relationships between workers and older people.
- supports high quality and safer care.
Formal versus informal engagement
Working with residents can be done in a formal or informal way. There are benefits to both ways, as both can provide a valuable source of information.
Asking for input and feedback from residents helps providers to keep improving. Having a feedback plan that staff and residents know about can stop food and dining-related problems because of poor communication.
Successful engagement includes:
- communicating with residents (in person or by other ways that suit the person’s needs)
- listening
- supporting residents to have input, give feedback and make complaints
- acting on input, feedback and complaints to make changes.
Formal ways of engaging
- meetings and forums (such as food focus groups)
- interviews
- surveys
- comment cards and feedback forms.
Informal ways of engaging
- conversations (comments and staff observations)
- workers sharing meals with residents to talk about ideas and feedback.