Through the situations of some friends, this month has made me think back over my own friends and relatives who have been in need of the sort of support that the Butterfly Scheme offers, yet who didn’t have dementia.
Two of them had brain tumours. One – my lovely sister-in-law – told me later that she thought she had dementia and tried to hide it from me, because she didn’t want to acknowledge the difficulties she was having. Another – a friend of forty years’ standing – was very different; she couldn’t recognise that she had cognitive problems, even though she’d ended up in all sorts of scrapes, such as catching the train to go shopping at 9pm, thinking it was 9am; she didn’t notice that it was dark and tried to explain that away afterwards, because she simply didn’t want to acknowledge that she had a problem with her cognition. That same friend later asked me: “Am I still me?” and I could assure her that yes, she was still the same person, just needing a bit of extra help from those around her; she’d tried to hide her fear of what was happening to her.
Both of those lovely people would have been able to benefit from the Butterfly Scheme in hospital. Yes, the Scheme was designed to support people living with dementia, but it’s not about diagnosis or categorising people; instead, its key aim is to support people with that set of care needs. An amended symbol is used, so that it’s clear there’s no dementia diagnosis, but the same care is delivered – which is what they need.
If we get the care right, we avoid all sorts of problems and make people happier and safer. If the care needs of someone you look after are similar to those of someone living with dementia, do consider using the Scheme – because we just want everyone in hospital to be safe and reassured.