A bit about Buurtzorg

I spent yesterday with Madelon and Lies, two nurses working for (with?) Buurtzorg. This is a Dutch home-care organisation that is hoping to spread internationally in coming years.

I’ll start by explaining for those of you who haven’t heard about Buurtzorg – what it is and, where it came from.

Buurtzorg means ‘community care’ – it was started in 2007 by Jos de Blok, a Dutch nurse who at the time was frustrated by the fragmentation and depersonalisation of care. There were various reasons for this situation – a drive for consistency and likely, cost-control through engagement with big business and a limited number of big care providers.

Jos and colleagues set-up small – that is ten to 12 people self-managing teams providing local, community care to mostly older people – focusing on wellbeing and independence – it is these elements – self-managing teams and the maintenance of wellbeing which…