Malnutrition Among Aged Uncommon In NZ

Media Release
8 November 2010

Report finds low incidence of malnourishment amongst older New Zealanders

The incidence of malnutrition amongst older people is low by world standards and where it exists, it is the result of related conditions, not the quality of care, says Martin Taylor, chief executive of the New Zealand Aged Care Association.

The problem of malnutrition amongst elderly people in care is a clinical challenge and not a deficiency of care Mr Taylor says in response to criticisms from two MPs Sue Kedgley and Ruth Dyson about the quality of aged care in New Zealand.

Malnutrition associated with aging is a recognised condition worldwide. It is especially common amongst the very old and is closely related to other conditions such as dementia and cardiovascular disease where the elderly person has become highly dependent.

The significant challenge involved in malnutrition amongst older people has been highlighted in a recent report commissioned by Whanganui District Health Board involving private aged care providers and in association with Victoria University (Wellington) and Maastricht University in Holland. The report was commissioned to identify the health challenges of aged care in an attempt to identify ways to further improve services and their delivery.

"It needs to be made very clear that malnutrition, and for that matter other conditions of the aged such as falls, incontinence and pressure ulcers (bed sores) commonly found amongst older people in care are not the product of inferior care. The care givers in our aged care facilities are not starving their residents or giving them inferior food. Rather, they are trying to keep patients alive and healthy, often in the face of severe mental and physical disability", he says.

"What's more, this situation is not new. A Dutch survey in 2008 in aged care institutions found a similar rate of malnutrition to that identified in this New Zealand study and in 2002 a similar study in Middlemore Hospital in Auckland found exactly the same situation. In general, international rates of malnutrition amongst the aged in care in developed countries are much higher than that in New Zealand.

"This study in Whanganui was undertaken in an attempt to generate data to find solutions and it is very sad that these MPs and, it appears, some news media also, have taken this out of context and used it to unfairly and cynically criticise New Zealand-based services.

"The New Zealand Aged Care Association supports Whanganui District Health Board and the aged care providers who participated in this study and applauds their courage in doing so. We hope that this openness and commitment to improvement evident amongst Whanganui providers will result in advances for care practice that will benefit the country's older generations.

Ends

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