Malnutrition is one of the most serious problems facing older Australians and is placing increased pressure on aged care services. With studies indicating fifty per cent of residents in aged care homes are malnourished, staff are faced with the dilemma of increasing nutrition intake for residents who often have small appetites. Although malnutrition is not a normal part of ageing, older people are more susceptible to being malnourished due to physical and mental factors associated with ageing as well as substandard meals provided to them. Serve food that looks like food they are used to. Remember this generation ate meat and three vegetables.. not chicken cacciatore that looks like vomit.
Left untreated, malnutrition results in more admissions to hospital and longer stays, undesirable weight loss, increased risk of falling, increased susceptibility to infection, pressure ulcers, slow healing of wounds and ultimately increased mortality rates. Continue reading “Australia’s Aged Care Face Malnutrition”
