It is often said that a society may be measured by the way it treats its most vulnerable members: the sick, in mind and body; the disadvantaged; babies; and old folks.
In respect of how we treat our elderly, New Zealanders - particularly Pakeha - do not have a proud
record.
Maori and Pacific Island traditions tend to hold elders in higher regard than Europeans and dislike the notion of shuffling them off into care when they can no longer look after themselves.
Likewise many recent immigrants come from countries where three or four generations live together.
But those who entrust the care of their old folks to rest homes will find cause for concern in our reports on the standard of nutrition in these institutions.
Two high-powered studies, one by the Wanganui District Health Board and the other by Otago University scientists, have revealed that many rest-home residents are underfed or even malnourished.
Some rest homes are under-ordering high-quality protein such as meat and fish and providing insufficent dairy products and grain-based food. Small helpings of fatty food make up diets short of fresh fruit and vegetables.
It is not hard to see why this should be the case. Aged care, traditionally supplied by the public sector and the church, has in the past generation increasingly been contracted out to the private sector and it was always likely that profit imperatives would erode standards.
That would appear to be what is happening here and the relevant industry bodies, together with the Health Ministry, should take the initiative and move swiftly to address the problems unearthed in these two reports, which are likely to be representative of the industry as a whole.
In the meantime, the families who pay the steep costs of rest-home care should call the providers to account and, where necessary, demand they lift their game. It is the least the old folks deserve.
