Please forgive me for repeating some of what I’ve written about on several occasions before, but it’s a situation that crops up again and again.
I’m glad that carers across the country often regard the Butterfly Scheme as part of their help and support; that was very much behind the creation of the Scheme all those years ago. However, I can’t intervene in hospitals which aren’t members; all I can do is offer carers who are witnessing inappropriate dementia care the usual advice to ask to speak to the hospital’s dementia lead, or possibly a dementia champion in the first instance. I always suggest carers write down their concerns and any solutions before that conversation, so that the specifics of their situation are addressed, as emotions can often be running high.
Why won’t I ever approach non-member hospitals to suggest they adopt the Scheme? Well, you might be surprised how many dementia leads get in touch with me and have very little idea of national guidance on hospital dementia care, let alone what our member hospitals are routinely achieving. Before anyone is ready to go ahead and adopt the Scheme, I need to see a level of energy and commitment – an aspiration – which will properly deliver the Scheme’s care and maintain it well; if someone hasn’t even bothered to find out what is recommended and what others are doing, I believe they’re unlikely to put the necessary energy into delivering a high standard of care.
Carers are absolutely right to expect hospitals to deliver appropriate dementia care. Nobody should be embarrassed or reluctant to explain calmly to hospital staff what’s not working in their dementia care approach; it can be very dangerous to have people with dementia in hospital situations where the care is not appropriate. Twenty years ago, it was widely accepted that hospital teams couldn’t know how to care well for someone living with dementia – but that time should now be well behind us. If the care isn’t right, please go ahead and help teams understand how to change in order to make it right – and if you care for someone who’s in a Butterfly Scheme hospital, I would hope that you’ve been promptly introduced to a ward dementia / Butterfly champion and feel that the positive communication will be ongoing.
Anyone can have a bad day – a bad week, even; hospitals can lose key members of staff and standards can temporarily slip. In all situations, though, the voice of carers should be welcomed and valued.