Buurtzorg (neighborhood nursing)

Buurtzorg is a pioneering healthcare organization established in 2008 with a nurse-led model of holistic care that has revolutionized community care in the Netherlands. The programme empowers nurses (rather than nursing assistants or cleaners) to deliver all the care that patients need. 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% 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.