Buurtzorg (neighborhood nursing)

Buurtzorg is a pioneering healthcare organisation established 13 years ago with a nurse-led model of holistic care that has revolutionised community care in the Netherlands.

Client satisfaction rates are the highest of any healthcare organisation. Staff commitment and contentedness is reflected in Buurtzorg’s title of Best Employer (4 out of the last 5 years). And impressive financial savings have been made. Ernst & Young documented savings of around 40 percent to the Dutch health care system, and a KPMG Case Study in 2012 found:

“Essentially, the program empowers nurses (rather than nursing assistants or cleaners) to deliver all the care that patient’s need. And while this has meant higher costs per hour, the results have been fewer hours in total. Indeed, by changing the model of care, Buurtzorg has accomplished a 50 percent reduction in hours of care, improved quality of care and raised work satisfaction for employees.”

Buurtzorg scaled very quickly across the Netherlands from 1 to 850 teams, in just 10 years. During this time Buurtzorg grew in other areas of care such as mental health, children and families and also supported other Dutch international care organisations to take on the Buurtzorg model of care.