Sixty phone calls were made to a new helpline aimed at encouraging the elderly and relatives to lodge complaints about residential homes’ services.

The main source of complaints remained food quality, according to a spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat for the Elderly.

Food quality also tops the list of complaints voiced by the elderly during the ongoing consultation process on minimum standards for residential homes.

When Parliamentary Secretary Justyne Caruana visited the Cospicua home last month, residents complained about the quality of vegetables and repetitive menus, saying they would like to be served chips once in a while.

Dr Caruana said she had looked into the complaints and changes were made where needed. However, she insisted, food offered in homes had to be healthy.

Another complaint that emerged during the consultation was lack of training by carers.

Dr Caruana said she was having talks with the Health Ministry to ensure carers were better trained and regulated. The idea was to set up a register so that carers who breached ethics or acted unprofessionally could be struck off.