This year’s update of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, newly published, has included only one best practice case study for hospital care: the Butterfly Scheme. It is gratifying to see this reinforcement of the message delivered by the National Audit of Dementia, which also cites only one named recommendation – the Butterfly Scheme – for hospital dementia leads. The emphasis in both is on linking identification and a specific care response; as I never tire of saying, identification is only ever a means to an end, and that end must be appropriate dementia care.
Wherever the scheme’s Butterfly symbol is found, the care response taught across all staff roles is the same – a base layer of insight and skills which allows staff to not only reassure and safely care for the patient, but also to avoid the vast majority of otherwise invisible causes of extended length of stay / acute treatment. It is successful care by so many team members across the UK that has built up the Butterfly Scheme’s reputation and I remain so grateful to all those healthcare workers who pride themselves in that care.