Collaboration has always been at the heart of the Butterfly Scheme. I collaborated with people living with dementia, carers and healthcare teams throughout the design and development of the scheme; within the scheme, we hold regional collaborative meetings, where Leads from all Trusts can meet and discuss key topics; links are created across the UK-wide network of Butterfly Scheme hospitals, where local issues or plans are common to each; successful add-ons to the scheme are shared across all member Trusts.   

Recently, however, another kind of collaboration has become apparent, as ward teams from Butterfly Scheme hospitals make contact with each other – initially via Twitter – and go on to share tips and ideas at that even more localised level. Anyone who doubts that there has been a change of attitude towards dementia care in our hospitals would do well to observe what’s happening in those passionate, devoted teams, who pride themselves on maximising their personalisation of dementia care. There are many teams out there delivering excellent dementia care and absolutely loving doing so. If there are teams feeling less enthusiastic about their dementia care, observers should aim to identify what it is that makes one team so passionate and another so lacking in enthusiasm.

My view? I’d advise those observers to look closely at the achievability and practicality of their team-wide dementia care education. Is every member of that team clear about what they and every other member are aiming to deliver – and do they feel confident in delivering it? Do they recognise the difference their approach makes? When healthcare teams are appropriately educated and enthused, they will be in a position where they want to learn as much as they can, share ideas, teach and learn. Our healthcare teams are in those jobs because they want to care well for all patients. When we give them the support they need, they can thoroughly enjoy delivering the best dementia care possible.