Failure to Provide Mechanical Soft Diet as Ordered
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a resident with a physician's order for a mechanical soft diet, due to a diagnosis of dysphagia oropharyngeal phase, was not provided food in the required texture. The resident's medical record indicated the need for a mechanical soft diet, which is defined as minced and moist food that does not require biting and only minimal chewing, with pieces no larger than 4 millimeters. The facility's diet orders and procedures specify that therapeutic diets must be prescribed and communicated to the dietary department, and that food should be prepared according to these orders. During a lunch service observation, staff were seen preparing mechanical soft roast beef by blending regular texture roast beef. However, the staff member responsible for plating the meal placed a regular texture serving of roast beef on the resident's tray, despite the meal ticket clearly indicating a mechanical soft diet. The tray with the incorrect food texture was delivered to the resident. The Dietary Manager confirmed that the resident was not provided the correct diet as ordered, verifying that the roast beef served was not in the mechanical soft form required for the resident's condition.