Explain 5 reasons why residents or patients might complain about their food or meals.?

Question

Clue: Workers in the food service work hard to prepare and serve appetizing and tasty meals.It is important to understand their customers are satisfied and their point of view regarding what they cook for them.Because cooks prepare meals that they believe acceptable. think that you are working in a Hospital or in a Nursing Home. Or, think you are a patient/ resident there.

Answer 1

I am a chef in a major private hospital {10 years}

We always try to ensure the patients receive there meals to the best standards available.

but this is not always possible

the reasons we find are as follows

1. they are not hot enough due to time involved in the delivery
2. they are bland in flavor. We are cooking for 200 - 400 not one, we must stick to strict guide lines and recipes set out by the doctors and the dietitians.
3. they are on strict diets due to health reasons
4 they might be on chemotherapy and it does change how things taste
5 but one of the biggest reasons of all,
They are long term patients and are just bored with the menu and all non menu choices available.

When this is the case we often sit down with them and their family's and try to come up with a viable solution that meets both theirs and the doctors needs,

Answer 2

1) May not be the temperature they prefer.
2) They may be used to having ingredients that may have been eliminated.
3) They may not be used to having new ingredients.
4) If they have problems with chewing or swallowing, the food may be too tough, chunky, or chewy for them.
5) Meat may not be cooked how they like it.

I've never worked in a hospital or nursing home, but I have worked at a diner where the homeless and people who need financial help can receive free meals. But no matter what, I think complaining about what they receive is irritating. I usually don't have a problem when they explain to me that there 'food is cold' or they 'have a burnt hot dog', but when complaints about 'too salty', 'overcooked', or 'you see this? I can't eat this, I need another.' come up then I get annoyed. They act like I'm the one who messed up their food in the first place and then they expect me to solve the problem even though I usually just bus tables and am not supposed to touch any trays or food. If I were in their shoes, I imagine I would be appreciative of just having a dinner. I see what they get and how much they get so if one thing isn't up to standard, they still have plenty to eat so they should just move on.

Answer 3

My mother lives in a retirement community where they fix at least 1 of your meals a day. Her main complaints are:

1. The temperature of the food (usually too cold).
2. Meat is overcooked - she has a heck of a time getting a piece of meat that isn't well done.
3. Vegetables mushy and tasteless.
4. They rotate the meals around, but basically she's getting the same thing, not a lot of variety.

That's all I can think of that she mentions. I know when I worked in a nursing home, the food didn't look real appetizing, but I didn't eat it so I can't say how it tasted.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Their taste buds vary in detecting flavor as they are elderly or ill...not enough salt would be my number one...it's bad for the heart but great for the taste...I bet they miss salt. Second, they may need more fish and less red meat, also due to coronary issues...most people of the past generation grew up eating hamburger and steak, and a bit of fish. Now they must eat more fish, and they miss meat. Third, institutions tend to used canned goods for storage reasons...these foods lack a freshness that most people were accustomed to at home. They need fresh fruits and vegetables instead of the processed canned goods. Fourth, people in rest homes are previous home chefs...now that someone is cooking for them they lack control and may find issue with the further taking away of their independence. Fifth, Choice. Institutions are limited in their creativity because of the health concerned recipes they must provide for the patients. People become disgruntled eaters when served just a few daily dishes every week, every month, all year long.

Answer 5

Ok here is a answer from me I cooked in long term care facitities and am now a nurse, I retired from the food service. I also have been a patient in a facility for a medical condition I have.
First off from the kitchen in California: Most hospitals weather acute or long term care purchase menues from a company that specializes in dietary requirements for the ailing and sick. The state of California requires a facility to serve so many grams of protein, carbohydrate, fruit, vegetable and consumeable liquids. The state is strict on these requirements and requires kitchens to follow the recipes in the menus exactly. That means no added herbs or spices of any kind. Why? Because there are many different diets the kitchen must prepare food for like, low salt, diabetic (low or no sugar), low fat;no fat, food allergies, etc. Then there are different consistencys the patient requires like regular (food you and I can handle and easily chew), mechanical soft; sometimes called ground; for those who can not chew so well, pured; like baby food consistency; these patients do not have the ability to chew their food, and liquified; those who must eat by sucking food through a straw because they can not open their mouth from surgery or other problems. It's not the cooks fault for the recipes they are mandated to follow by state laws or they loose their job. They are partially responsible for a castrophie because of a accident from consumption of the wrong consistency, allergic reaction or other health implications. It is not worth losing your job over to make something taste better. Worse the possibility of making someone very ill or killing because of a food allergy. As a nurse, my current job, I look at every item i serve to my patients to keep these disasters from happening. If a cook adds something he or she is not supposed to and it reacts with a patient. It's on the cook because diet restrictions and guidelines were not followed according to the specific recipe.

As a patient, for me I love food and properly seasoned is a big important factor to me. When I had a lengthy stay in a facility (about 2 1/2 months) I had my family bring my own seasonings in for me which included Hot Sauce! I love spicy hot!!! It all made my food taste much better to me, but the guy next to me always asked me how could I stand "that stuff" i put on my meal. He loved his food bland and I explained to him that it was what i liked and he could eat the way he liked. Most patients have weak taste buds because of illness or the taste buds are hypersynsitive to flavors. The mild flavored foods cover most people staying in the hospital.

Pured and liquified diets look disgusting but they are the same food you and I consume in our "regular" diets. Those foods are just processed in a heavy duty food processor or blender so the people who can not chew can eat.

Answer 6

I suspect that dietary guidelines approved by the Federal and State governments make patients feel that their food is uninteresting and bland. They remember when they were younger, when their digestive tracts were more amenable to more complex foods, when food was eaten with gusto and nobody worried about blood pressure or cholesteral. I also think that eating in the same environment day after day is boring. Not only are their palates bored, but they aren't visually excited about their food either. Perhaps spicing up their eating hole is a start. Have a "cocktail" hour where you bring in music, candles or dim the lights, create a champagne punch, and serve "appetizers" that are fun and appealing. Fresh flowers and table linens are a nice addition. An occasional splurge keeps things fun as well. Its unfortunate that the elderly are forgotten in this country anyway, or that we tend to infantilize them. We have forgotten that they were once young and vital, interesting and full of life. Since we can't turn back the clock, perhaps we can enhance their experiences of today!

Answer 7

1. Menu lacks variety
2. Frozen eggs
3. Clumpy milk
4. Bland
5. Soggy

Answer 8

Food preferences are very personal and are largely rooted in our family history... I began working in food service at 14 years of age... baking the schools bread ...

I became aware of the problem you ask about at that time.

Do you put garlic powder in the tunafish salad... seems like a bad idea to me but many people like it made that way.. [and I like to use garlic]

The point is that there is no way to please everyone... in food service people try to do their best and that's all you can do..

not everyone likes caviar...

Answer 9

1. a physical illness or condition alters taste or appetitte
2. aging lessens taste.
3. medications alter taste or appetite.
4. a psychiatric issue such as depression effects taste and appetite.
5. the food preparation is lousy.

Answer 10

Diabetes is usually treated through a combination of diet (low sugar), exercise and medications/insulin. Read here https://tr.im/Xfb0k
Milder cases can be controlled with just diet an/or exercise while more severe cases require meds or insulin as well.