Care Home Apologises After 93-Year-Old Vegetarian Resident Served Meat
The family of a 93-year-old vegetarian woman has claimed that her dietary requirements were blatantly disregarded after she moved into Howard House Care Home in Kilmarnock. Ann Moulds, the daughter, stated that her mother, who has been a strict vegetarian for over seven decades, was repeatedly served meat and left surviving on plain dry cheese sandwiches for months. The care home has since issued a formal apology for specific areas where their service fell short of expected standards.
Family Alleges Systematic Failure in Basic Care Provision
Ann Moulds detailed how her sister, who holds power of attorney, provided the care home with a comprehensive list of foods the elderly woman would not eat upon her admission in 2022. According to Ann, this list was completely ignored by the staff. She explained that the situation began with vegetarian options like macaroni cheese or vegetarian lasagne, but if her mother declined these meals, she was simply given dry cheese sandwiches without any alternative nutritious offerings.
"They were being paid to care for an elderly person but didn't," Ann emphasised. "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."
Care Inspectorate Guidelines and Lack of Accountability
The Care Inspectorate mandates that all care services must respect personal, religious, and philosophical beliefs regarding food, with specific requirements to cater for vegetarian and vegan dietary needs. Ann reported that when the family raised concerns with social work authorities, they were unable to intervene effectively. She criticised the care home for operating without proper accountability, stating, "The care home just did their own thing, and there was no accountability."
In a particularly distressing incident, Ann's mother fell and broke her hip, becoming bedridden. During this period, she stopped eating and drinking. Upon reviewing the food chart, the family discovered that the care home had served her meat, pork, and fish, directly contravening her lifelong vegetarian beliefs.
Charity Involvement and Calls for Government Action
Following a two-year stay at Howard House, the elderly woman has since been transferred to a different care facility. Ann Moulds has now joined forces with the charity Vegetarian for Life (VfL) to advocate for better protections. The charity is calling on care providers and the government to take immediate action to ensure that dietary beliefs are properly recognised and respected in all care settings.
A spokesperson for Sanctuary Care, which operates Howard House, commented, "We apologised for the areas where our service fell short of the standards we expect." The apology acknowledges the specific failures but does not detail any corrective measures implemented to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about the quality of care and respect for individual preferences in residential care homes, particularly for vulnerable elderly residents with specific dietary requirements rooted in long-held personal or philosophical beliefs.
