Buurtzorg Diaries - Buurtzorg Life Poem - Jacqueline Williams, East Cheshire NHS Trust

Early in March, several AQuA staff and members embarked on an exciting study trip to the Netherlands, to learn more about the Buurtzorg health and care system.

Throughout the week, they’ll be sharing their learning and experiences of the trip in a series of blogs. Our latest learning comes as a poem from member Jacqui Williams, Associate Director for Service Transformation at East Cheshire NHS Trust.

This is our reflection of our time in the Hague,
We’ll try to give detail - and not be vague
Monday - the day our adventure began...
7 nurses let loose across Amsterdam
We’ve tried all modes of transport - car, foot, tram and bike
All thirsty for knowledge about the ‘Buurtzorg life’.

Nursing teams in neighbourhoods - where lives are laid bare
Early intervention, practice prevention and promoting self care
Really ‘knowing’ your patients - that's how it should be
Therapeutic relationships with continuity
Goals and solutions that are owned and are shared,
Everyone’s equal, with time given to care.

So, what has struck us about this philosophy?
A return to core nursing values ‘create simplicity’
Systems and support that don’t hinder or burden
A ‘no blame’ culture - and commitment to learning

Nurses self managing - committed to their job
Accountable, responsible, professional Buurtzorg!
All of this is what we can see
With a feeling that this was ‘how it used to be’

So, what next? We challenged our brains
Thinking about what, when and how we might change

Jos de Blok’s words echoing in our minds
‘Coalitions of the willing’ - we need to find
Review what we have - trade in ‘process and tools’
Reduce the bureaucracy - ‘relationships not rules’

Take the best of our past, our present practice too
There’s lots to celebrate in what we currently do

Give our nurses confidence, freedom and competency
For safe effective care that brings real quality
Nursing in different countries, different cultures, but we share the same aim

Great patient care - Buurtzorg?
The clues in the name.

Stay tuned to our news page for more blogs where other teams will also be sharing their experiences from the trip.

Alternatively, you can follow Emma Walker (@EmmaCherub) or our Whole System Flow Lead Wendy Lewis (@ERPwend) on Twitter for the latest.