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Elderly Blast Quality Of Meals
By Kate Uebergang, News Interactive
July 13, 2004
Hundreds of elderly Victorians are unhappy with their Meals on Wheels, with complaints ranging from bland food to tough meat and tasteless vegies.
Some say the meals made them sick while others reported nasty surprises in their food, including cockroaches, mould and earwigs.
Others are unhappy that foreign dishes have replaced the preferred meat and three vegies.
"Honestly, I do not understand what I am eating or ordering," a Nillumbik senior said.
More than 800 complaints have been made in the past 18 months.
Almost 30,000 elderly, frail and disabled Victorians receive the Meals on Wheels service, paying up to $6 for each subsidised meal.
The vital service is provided by 71 councils and 32 other groups -- two-thirds of which use contractors to produce meals.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws detail 811 complaints about meals provided by 27 councils since January 2002.
Among the most serious complaints:
COCKROACHES, ear-wigs and a fly found in meals in Ballarat, Geelong, Kingston, Whittlesea and Wodonga.
ELEVEN seniors in Boroondara, Geelong, Melton, Moonee Valley, Wodonga and Yarra saying meals made them ill.
AN ELDERLY Brimbank man getting a piece of wood stuck in his throat after swallowing it while eating a cabbage dish.
AN ELDERLY Geelong woman seeking medical attention after a piece of plastic from her soup packaging got caught in her throat.
WOODEN splinters, mould, toothpicks, a paper clip, a screw, sticking plaster, tea bag, rubber band and hair also found in dinners.
REQUESTS that nuts not be used in dishes overlooked by Wodonga Council, with other councils accused of not catering for food allergies or to diabetics and anemics.
FOI documents show countless elderly people believe the quality of their meals has dropped.
A Glen Eira couple said their roast beef tasted like bullock, a Moonee Valley senior said the sago was like glue and Banyule clients said their dessert of five prunes and chocolate custard looked terrible.
Mistakes were also common. A Casey employee said a menu mix-up meant elderly people were given food they were allergic to.
"So many clients have cancelled meals for this reason. They are receiving meals they cannot eat. Most are struggling to pay for them as it is," she wrote.
Elderly people fund 66 per cent of the service, a recent review found.
The Federal Government provides a $1.20 subsidy for each meal -- administered by the State Government -- and the remainder is funded by councils or private providers.
A Department of Human Services and Municipal Association of Victoria review also highlighted a range of concerns including the increased demand for meals for our ageing population, contractors raising prices and the difficulty in recruiting delivery volunteers.
MAV chief executive officer Rob Spence said councils had begun a campaign urging the Commonwealth Government to increase Home and Community Care funding.
He defended the service, saying there would always be issues.
"We deliver a massive number of meals each year," he said.
"It is a great service. It is putting out a good-quality product to a needy community at an incredibly low price," he said.
Dietitian Karen Inge said meals on wheels was the only source of nutrition for many people.
"You're dealing with a vulnerable group in the community. The standard has to be high," she said.
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