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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

That old people deserve nice food.

153 replies

sweethope · 09/09/2018 23:13

This photo was took by a relative of someone in a care home for the elderly of a meal given today.. Aibu to say old people much better than that.

That old people deserve nice food.
OP posts:
PositiveVibez · 12/09/2018 07:21

Olivander I love your posts on this thread.

I am so glad there are people like you in this world.

My sister used to do this work and now works with victims rescued from modern day slavery.

Care workers get such bad press, but they are, in the main, people like you and my sister who actually really care and do go above and beyond and the very limited time you are given to actually 'care'.

The wages are an absolute travesty. You are entrusted to look after some of the most vulnerable people in society and paid absolute buttons. It is sickening.

Thank you and thanks to people like you Flowers

NewYearNewMe18 · 12/09/2018 07:46

I've seen this article in the local paper - along with the usual fuckwitted comments like "I'd go and smash the chefs face in if that was my nans dinner"

Really annoys me that the Op cant link to the article so we can have a proper debate about it.

Satsumaeater · 12/09/2018 07:52

So I'll withhold judgement on this one. If you're compos mentis and are able to chew properly then yes it's a bit shit, but if you're dealing with residents with various problems then you have to work within their capabilities and tastes

I agree. My dad complained constantly about the food in his care homes but it looked ok to me, his taste buds had gone and he just couldn't taste and had difficulty swallowing. It wasn't surprising that he didn't like the food.

Isentthesignal · 12/09/2018 07:59

My Mum has spent nearly 8 months in hospital, the food is absolutely vile and you are no longer allowed to bring fresh food in - it's against health and safety - you can only bring biscuits and squash in. Mum has lost an enormous amount of weight, they have put her fortified yogurts to build her up - they are vile too. She just wants normal home cooked food.

ragged · 12/09/2018 08:07

I can't tell from a picture what they taste or smell like. Can't judge without smell/taste info. The ham does look good.

SlartiAardvark · 12/09/2018 08:16

"Sounds nice, but I don't like peas or grilled tomatoes & fried eggs give me wind"

Are you 100% sure that the picture is the whole story???

SlartiAardvark · 12/09/2018 08:20

It looks like "Outrage Fodder" to me - designed to be plastered all over Social Media by Social Justice Warriors who have nothing better to do.

There's no context - that plate in isolation could be anywhere, the photographer couldn't even be arsed to find a sad old person to sit next to it.

2/10 for effort but, as can be seen here, it doesn't have to be any better than that to enable a bit of righteous outrage.......

user1499173618 · 12/09/2018 08:25

Professional chefs don’t want to work in care homes. It’s really hard to find staff with imagination and high culinary standards who will work in a care home.

HoppingPavlova · 12/09/2018 08:31

Hard to say. The portion size looks alright for an elderly person in care. Not sure about the content, depends on the person.

I eat a crap load of vegetables, salad, pulses and some fruit. This is out of duty. When I am elderly and particularly if I am in such a way that I need to be in a care home, I have no intention of letting veg pass my lips. Stuff being nutritionally balanced, I've done my time in this regard and if it takes me out a few years early then so be it.

Fuckedoffat48b · 12/09/2018 08:32

This is what happens when you don't value 'women's work'

knittedwoollenmouse · 12/09/2018 08:35

When I was working as an agency nurse, I asked the kitchen for a lady’s meal to give her and was handed a plate of instant mashed potato with tomato soup poured over it Sad

I’m usually a pretty tough person, but I started to cry as I was feeding her as I was so ashamed to be feeding her this awful stuff.

The public have no idea of how bad these places can be. The good ones are only ‘good’ because of how adept they are at hiding the truth from CQC.

TitsalinaBumSquash · 12/09/2018 08:42

I'm a home carer and food is a huge part of our job, buying the right stuff and prepping it just so for that particular person.
I hate when we go into someone's home and their living off of ping meals, I spoil our clients rotten with their meals and really pamper them. When you've lived 80+ years and have no family who care you deserve someone to come and make you feel good for a few hours a day. I love my job.

DeloresJaneUmbridge · 12/09/2018 08:49

Another poster saying it is only one photo and we don't know the context behind it.

My Nan would have loved it as she hates vegetables (but ate a ton of fruit) so for her this would have been perfect.

radiatorclotheshorse · 12/09/2018 08:49

Those chips have been re-fried.

So cooked for the appropriate time in the fryer, left to cool. And instead of cooking a fresh batch they have dropped the chip basket down again.

Have seen it done. Yuck. If anything going by that alone I'd question their food hygiene standards. Yeah it won't harm anyone but if the mindset is to reheat food then other practises may need inspected.

BarbaraofSevillle · 12/09/2018 09:07

Refrying chips is standard procedure and seen as the best way to get good chips. Start them off at a lower temperature to cook the potato and then when they're ready to be served, put them in hotter oil for a minute or two to heat and crisp up.

And then there's the current trend for triple cooked chips, that's practically everywhere.

Washedwithrain · 12/09/2018 09:09

That meal looks revolting and whether the resident requested just ham and chips or not (I suspect not), then the ham should be properly presented and the chips shouldnt have been fried so many times.

FIL has been in hospital recently and the food was lovely. It's locally sourced where possible and little things were taken great care of, for example rather than limp ordinary lettuce leaves, he was given a mix of lots of different leaves ( the sort you'd choose in a mixed salad bag in a supermarket). If this huge teaching hospital can get it right, there's no excuse anywhere else.

Bluelady · 12/09/2018 09:10

I'm not judging here. My mum wouldn't have eaten that because she wouldn't eat anything that wasn't sweet in the late stages of dementia. She lived on puddings for her last year. My dad's only complaint about the care home they lived in was that the food was too good and there was too much of it!

nokidshere · 12/09/2018 09:13

I agree that the plate of food looks unappetising but I think some context is needed to form a full picture.

Maybe the resident served themselves from a buffet style arrangement? My MILs diet went completely out of the window as she got older and by the time she died (age 96) all she pretty much ate was sandwiches and cake. Her choice, despite my best efforts to provide her with lovely meals.

If that plate of food is a standard menu and there is no choice then absolutely it needs addressing.

NutElla5x · 12/09/2018 09:15

It could be that the resident refused the accompaniments-maybe a fried egg,grilled tomatoes and garden peas, that would make this sad and dry looking plateful a nutritious and tasty meal.Then again if this is all that the residents were offered it's shocking,sad and needs to be looked into!

headstone · 12/09/2018 09:35

I suspect that picture isn’t the whole story. However care home and hospital food is not restaurant or home cooked quality. It is usually cheap cantine style quality which is all the budget allows. The staff on minimum wage will no doubt be blamed for this when in reality there isn’t enough money for better food. The management will say they will be laying off staff or ‘ retraining’.
The outraged relatives will not be willing to bring in better food for the relative as why should they. No one wants to pay more for care. Nothing will change. Except it’s nice to be outraged at the disgusting level of care given by people on minimum wage in care homes.

Mrsramsayscat · 12/09/2018 09:46

There is NO excuse for not even one vegetable. They're cheap enough.

Mrsramsayscat · 12/09/2018 09:48

And frankly not restaurant quality isn't an argument. People lives full time in care homes. It is their home. Its like saying that people can't expect good quality home cooked food in a care home. If Jamie Oliver can provide it, they damn well can too.

knittedwoollenmouse · 12/09/2018 09:49

Regardless of whether the resident has chosen this food, it’s just been thrown on that plate and the chips are so hard and dry that they’re a choking risk. People lose tone in their oesophagus as they age and are at increased of choking. If they’re in a care home, they’re presumably sick/frail anyway, so serving food this tough is a risk.

FlipnTwist · 12/09/2018 09:56

I don't believe this.There are very strict nutritional uidelines for care homes as well as catering for various diets and textures of food,
The CQC would be all over something like this.This brings me to my next point. Why is this not being reported to them instead of spread over FB.My instinct is this has been what the resident requested.Maybe ham salad and they have asked for chips instead of salad.

Sallystyle · 12/09/2018 10:08

The chips look awful. It might be that the person didn't want any veg but those chips are dry and not easy for a lot of older people to eat. There is no excuse for that and as others have said, it can be a risk.

The food they serve my nan is often awful. She always complains about it and I don't blame her. Some of it looks vile.