Biography
I qualified as a Registered nurse in 1974. I then gained experience in working in a range of settings, including in the community as a District Nurse. For more than 25 years my work has involved me in different ways with care homes for older people, including working in homes, supporting & teaching staff and inspecting care homes.
Care Planning
In 1998 I led a project with Somerset Health Authority to develop a care planning system for nursing homes – SHARP, which has been developed into a comprehensive care documentation system for care homes for older people. SHARP has been researched and designed in care homes, for care homes. It has been designed to enable person-centred care to be demonstrated and is continually being updated to reflect current good practice guidelines in the care of older people in care homes.
A key feature of managing SHARP is providing ongoing training and support, including visits to the homes and day courses for all care staff.
Courses
The SHARP organisation regularly presents a range of specialist courses to help staff in care homes and domiciliary care agencies to keep updated. The courses are designed to be practical and interactive. SHARP has delivered courses on the Mental Capacity Act and Advance Care Planning. These courses were commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) as part of a programme of work on implementing the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Feedback was very positive from all courses. SHARP is an approved training organisation for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 by ECCA (English Community Care Association).
SHARP has completed a ‘learning pack’ for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and this is available on a dedicated website – www.mentalcapacityact.com . This is another piece of work supported by the Department of Health and SCIE.
SHARP also delivers successful courses on Person-Centred Care Planning, some of these have been in partnership with the organisation Dementia Care Matters.
Consultancy
I also work as an Independent Nurse Consultant, supporting care organisations to help them improve their services. My work in regulation gives me an understanding of how to achieve and demonstrate high quality care in regulated services, particularly care homes for older people and domiciliary care agencies. A recent project involved re-designing the care planning system for a domiciliary care agency, which then achieved an 'excellent' rating by CQC.
I have recently supported organisations in Somerset to improve their quality ratings.
Recent projects – Advance Care Planning
I became particularly interested in how staff can be supported to increase residents’ involvement in planning their care. This has led to my special interest in advance care planning, which can enable people to be supported at all times as they would like.
I have created a ‘learning pack’ for advance care planning, which can be found on a dedicated website – www.advancecareplanning.co.uk . I led on the writing of a good practice guide on Advance Care Planning, sponsored by Counsel and Care and published in June 2008.
I presented at Counsel & Care’s conference ‘The Dignity Challenge for Care Homes’ on 3 April 2008 in London on this subject. Also I presented at the RCN Wales conference in February 2009 and at the RCN conference for care of older people on 1 April 2009 and at the National Care Homes Congress in June 2009.
In January 2010 I presented a ‘masterclass’ on Advance Care Planning for the organisation for dementia, which supports Admiral nurses.
Recent Publications
Ascertaining Wishes: A Good Practice Guide by Cathy Butterworth, Katherine Froggatt and Suzanne Vaughan. The guide includes findings from a research project undertaken by Lancaster University with Counsel and Care, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and care home provider Friends of the Elderly. It is priced at £5.99 plus postage and packing. The guide can be purchased from Counsel and Care by visiting the website at http://www.counselandcare.org.uk/influence/publications/ or by telephoning 020 7241 8522.
Butterworth C (2008) ‘Advance care planning: good for everyone?’ Journal of Dementia Care. Vol 16. No 6. Nov/Dec.
Butterworth C (2005) ‘Ongoing consent to care for older people in care homes’. Nursing Standard. 19 (20): 40-45.
Contact details
For more information visit the websites:-
– www.careplans.co.uk
– www.advancecareplanning.co.uk
– www.mentalcapacityact.com
or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it