News and events
Mar 12
A warm welcome in Wales
16th Dec 11
Butterfly Scheme recommended in National Audit of Dementia
Dec 11
What one carer has to say
Nov 11
DoH funds speaker training through link with Dementia UK
Oct 2011
The Scheme arrives in Scotland
Sept 2011
The Butterfly Scheme at the RCN's "Making Sense" conference
Sept 2011
Successful launch at Frimley Park
The Butterfly Scheme's reputation is growing rapidly. To see references to it in official reports and documents....click here
Barbara Hodkinson, Scheme Founder and Co-ordinator
Picture reproduced with the kind permission of Nursing Older People magazine
In hospital, dozens of staff pass - often very quickly - through a patient's life every day
Some will be aware of the patient's memory status, but even those who are aware of it often don't realise that their words and actions are inappropriate - and possibly even dangerous - to a person with dementia
Inappropriate dementia care routinely results in greatly extended length of stay, but how can hospital staff automatically know how to respond to someone with dementia?
The answer, of course, is that they can't automatically know - but the Butterfly Scheme has developed a successful way of sharing carer expertise and insight with all staff who take over that care in hospital, very quickly building up their dementia care skills
Created by a carer, the Butterfly Scheme is rapidly spreading as hospitals hear from one another how it has created real enthusiasm for dementia care amongst staff using it
Hospital staff want to be able to offer good dementia care and the Butterfly Scheme makes that possible in the most practical and collaborative way
The Butterfly Scheme allows people whose memory is permanently affected by dementia to make this clear to hospital staff and provides staff with a simple, practical strategy for meeting their needs. The patients receive more effective and appropriate care, reducing their stress levels and increasing their safety and well-being, and staff are happier, too.
One of those rare situations where something that's great for the patient is also great for the staff!
(1) At-a-glance discreet identification via the Butterfly symbol is available for hospital patients who have dementia-related memory impairment and wish staff to be aware of it
(2) All staff who interact with patients are trained to offer a specific five-point targeted response
(3) the Butterfly alerts all staff to the existence of an easy-to-use carer sheet
