Refusal of meal options | QCS

I am the cook in a residential care home elderly vulnerable adults . The main meals each day have one alternative, I am told by the home owner that if the service user declines both choices I cannot offer another choice and they go without, and the service user must provide his own food, i.e. go to the shops. I do not feel comfortable with the outcome. Can you help?

Sheila Scott
Answered by Sheila Scott

This is a very important question and a worrying situation.

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 14: Meeting nutritional and hydration needs is a legal requirement placed on the responsible person and the Registered Manager of any care home.

The Care Quality Commission says in its guidance about this regulation:

“The intention of this regulation is to make sure that people who use services have adequate nutrition and hydration to sustain life and good health and reduce the risks of malnutrition and dehydration while they receive care and treatment.

To meet this regulation, where it is part of their role, providers must make sure that people have enough to eat and drink to meet their nutrition and hydration needs and receive the support they need to do so.

People must have their nutritional needs assessed and food must be provided to meet those needs. This includes where people are prescribed nutritional supplements and/or parenteral nutrition. People’s preferences, religious and cultural backgrounds must be taken into account when providing food and drink.

CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation or a breach of part of the regulation if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service or a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm. In these instances, CQC can move directly to prosecution without first serving a warning notice. Additionally, CQC may also take any other regulatory action. See the offences section for more detail.

CQC must refuse registration if providers cannot satisfy us that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.”

If the service user does not like the choices offered then it would be good practice to discuss in detail with them the foods that they would prefer and any that they would not eat.

It is poor practice to say that if the person does not like what they are offered they must go without, as is any suggestion that the person should buy their own food.

I cannot stress enough how seriously I believe the regulator would take this situation. Having said that it is your responsibility to make sure that the home owner and/or the Registered Manager is fully aware of your concerns.

Any further action you take must be your personal decision.

Should you want to discuss this with me further please email me back.

Sheila

About Sheila Scott

Sheila Scott OBE from National Care Association (NCA). Care is Sheila’s life; she possesses a strong command of the issues facing the care sector informed by her long career as a nursing professional, the owner and manager of a care business and as a leader in the care sector. 3. Read more

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