The family of a 93-year-old vegetarian woman claimed her dietary requirements were not respected after she went to live at Howard House Care Home in Kilmarnock, with the home now apologising
The relatives of a vegetarian care home resident claimed she was left surviving on plain cheese sandwiches for months after repeatedly being served meat.
Ann Moulds claimed her 93-year-old mother’s dietary needs were disregarded, after she moved to Howard House Care Home in Kilmarnock. The facility issued an apology for “specific areas where service fell short”.
Ann stated: “Mum has been a strict vegetarian for over 70 years but her food was just one example of failing to provide basic care, it exploited her vulnerability. When she went into the care home in 2022 my sister, who has the power of attorney, gave them a list of what mum would not eat but it was ignored.
“There were other things happening. We went to social work who couldn’t do any-thing. The care home just did their own thing and there was no accountability. The Care Inspectorate mandates that care services respect personal, religious and philosophical beliefs regarding food, specifically requiring that vegetarian and vegan dietary needs are catered for.”
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Ann claimed management at the care home pointed the finger at her mother, suggesting she had been requesting meat-based dishes, reports the Daily Record.
She continued: “It started off with vegetarian food like macaroni cheese or vegetarian lasagne but if she didn’t like what she was getting, they would make her dry cheese sandwiches and dump them in front of her. They were being paid to care for an elderly person but didn’t.
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“Mum fell and broke her hip and ended up bedridden. She stopped eating and drinking so my sister demanded to see the food chart and saw they had given her meat, pork and fish.”
Following a two-year stint at the care home, her mum transferred to a different facility. Ann has since joined forces with Vegetarian for Life (VfL).
The charity stated: “We are calling on care providers and the government to act to ensure dietary beliefs are recognised.”
A spokesperson for Sanctuary Care commented: “We apologised for the areas where our service fell short of the standards we expect.”
