Worthing dementia centre is first day service in UK to gain The Butterfly Approach accreditation

Guild Care’s Haviland House dementia care home in Worthing is one of only 50 accredited Butterfly homes in the UK, and now the neighbouring Bradbury Wellbeing Centre has received the highly-regarded accreditation from care and culture consultancy Meaningful Care Matters for the successful implementation of its person-centred care model.

Claire Howell, Guild Care’s director of community services, said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled that the Bradbury Wellbeing Centre has received an ‘Excellent’ accreditation from Meaningful Care Matters as a result of their recent audit.

“Person-centred care is an essential component of every Guild Care service, from our community services right through to our nursing homes, but no more so than when we are supporting those living with dementia and their carers.

“We pride ourselves on creating a loving environment where everyone matters and each person is free to be themselves, whether they are a service user, a relative, a volunteer, or a member of staff.”

The Butterfly Approach focuses on creating a person-centred care culture where people are ‘free to be me’. The model values emotional intelligence, relationship-based care culture, and the core belief that everyone has a unique story that has meaning and matters.

It is about putting the focus back on people and their emotions by engaging in the reality of people’s lived experience in the here and now.

Bradbury Wellbeing Centre achieved an Excellent rating from Meaningful Care Matters, which described the team as having a ‘meaningful rapport with the people in attendance at the day centre’ and said they had shown ‘such resilience and truly continued to ‘Be a Butterfly’, creating moments of meaningful engagement for all’.

Peter Bewert, managing director of Meaningful Care Matters, said: “We’re delighted to see our partners at Bradbury Wellbeing Centre becoming the first day centre in the UK to be awarded accreditation under The Butterfly Approach.

“It has been testing time for the social care sector, so we applaud their determination to offer an environment where people using their services can thrive and enjoy the highest quality of life possible.

“We look forward to assisting more day centres in facilitating the creation, reinvigoration and sustainable implementation of person‐centred care cultures. It’s coming back to the art and heart of care, where people, and moments, matter.”

Opened in 2015, the day service is operated by Guild Care and sits adjacent to Haviland House. The centre offers an extensive and innovative programme of events, and provides a safe and stimulating environment for people living with dementia each year, while at the same time offering respite for their carers.

During the recent pandemic, the charity adapted its services, offering telephone befriending support, day services at home, and face-to-face respite services at reduced capacity to enable social distancing.