Aged Care Nutrition Services

Up to 50% of residents in aged care homes are malnourised or at risk of malnutrition. These figures are somewhat less in the community but older people living in their own home or in a retirement community or serviced apartment remain at risk of an indadequate intake. Appetites are often small, there may be medical problems leading to reduced intake, or there may be difficulty in accessing nutritious foods.

Nutrition Professionals Australias' dietitians have the nutrition expertise to assist your organisation to find the solution that is tailored to your organision and your food service.

Our Accredited Practising Dietitians will:

• Assess consumer nutrition issues and requirements
• Review PEG feeds
• Develop nutrition care plans
• Liaise with medical, nursing and food services staff to ensure optimal care
• Contribute to the nutrition  care plan
• Plovide a meal plan for food services or care staff

Download our referral form and fax to 08 8227 1200 and our admin team will be in touch to make an appointment time.

Does your organisation have difficulty in accessing dietitian services? Accreditation standards require consumers in aged care to be reviewed by a dietitian but a suitably qualified and experienced dietitian is not always available, especially in rural areas. We can help!

Call to make an appointment with one of our experienced Accredited Practising Dietitians. We will:   

• Send you a list of information we need about the resident   
• Review all information provided
• Speak to you via Skype
• Discuss relevant issues relating to the nutrition care of the resident
• Speak to the consumer via Skype too if appropriate
• Provide a written report that can be entered into the medical record
• Provide a written meal plan for the care plan and the kitchen

Skype is a great way to save on travel costs and to keep in regular touch with a dietitian about your residents. All you need is a computer and a webcam or a laptop with the webcam built in. Its easy!

Aged care menus must be reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet consumers' needs and aged care quality standards.

An audit of the menu is far more than simply looking at the menu structure itself. The menu on paper does not always reflect what is actually served and does not necessarily ensure that consumers receive an adequate diet.

Our audits of menu and nutrition care aim to identify the links between food service and nutrition care of residents. We aim to identify gaps in provision of nutrition care and strategies for quality improvement.

Nutrition Professionals Australia provides a comprehensive menu and food service audit that includes:

• A visit to your organisation to meet with key catering, nursing and care staff
• Audits of serve sizes
• Review of documentation
• Review of nutrition and special diet policy and procedures
• Identification of processes to identify malnutrition and provide nutrition support
• Quantitative assessment of nutrition provided to residents
• Identification of how food service integrates into nutrition care
• Comprehensive report with recommendations to meet accreditation guidelines

We can offer:

• Review of menu and core food groups only
• Premium review of menu and nutrition care processes
• Nutrition analysis of recipes or the entire menu
• Desktop reviews using electronic communications

For more information call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

Does your aged care facility have difficulty in accessing dietitian services? Accreditation standards require that menus are regularly reviewed by a dietitian but a suitably qualified and experienced dietitian is not always available, especially in rural areas. We can help!

Nutrition Professionals Australia have developed a cost effective method of ensuring that your menu is meeting the needs of your residents. We will:  

• Send you a questionnaire about your menu and food service
• Ask you to weigh meals and provide some of your documentation about nutrition care
• Schedule an interview via Skype or teleconference
• Provide a detailed report and recommendations for quality improvements

For more information call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

Nutrition Professionals Australia can also provide regular site visits to monitor and facilitate a range of food and nutrition services including:

• Development and implementation of a nutrition screening tool to identify consumers at risk of malnutrition
• Flowchart for nutrition supplementation and monitoring of consumers' nutrition status
• Attendance at catering meetings
• Recipe analysis and review
• Special diets guidelines
• Review of texture modified diets and thickened fluids
• Implementation of new IDDSI guidelines
• Review of diabetes management
• Advice regarding most appropriate and cost effective supplements
• Troubleshooting

Monthly visits to the care home are recommended, but other time frames can be negotiated.

For more information or to arrange visits to your home call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

We can provide seminars and workshops in your organisation- we can tailor sessions to suit the needs of your organisation.

We run 2-Day Improving Nutrition in Aged Care Seminars in every state each year.
 

Our popular 2 day seminar equips participants with the necessary tools to provide quality nutrition care in their facility. They will be given the opportunity to clarify contemporary nutrition issues in a practical way over the two day workshop. It will assist your facility to achieve best practice in nutrition and special diets and to meet accreditation requirements.

Have you attended NPA's Improving Nutrition in Aged Care Seminar?

We are now offering the seminars as a series of online e-learning presentations.

You can view the presentations directly from our website. The presentations inlude quizzes, practical information and resources that will assist you to meet Best Practice and Accreditation Guidelines.

NPA has developed a series of one day meal plans that provide a summary outline for each of the various special diets that are likely to be encountered in aged care.

Many of these special diets eg diabetic and texture modified are routinely provided from the main menu, but others will need to be catered for on an individual basis.

The meal plans provide a simple and practical guide that can be readily referred to at the time of serving meals.

Also included in this manual is information regarding standard serve sizes and a standard menu structure to ensure that residents are provided with ample opportunities to choose foods from each of the core food groups and to ensure that the facility meets best practice and accreditation guidelines.

NPA has developed a set of resources and information for aged care homes or any organisation that provides services to older people. The resources describe the key nutrition issues faced by nursing, care, communuity and food services staff.

More info