Creative caring: Social solutions to elderly welfare in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is reputed to have one of the best care systems for the elderly in the world. But it's expensive. The Netherlands spends more for care than most other industrialised nations. Despite the relative high level of expenditure there is still a shortage of tens of thousands of nurses. The country is facing huge challenges because the number of elderly people is growing rapidly.

As a result of sharp rising costs and a lack of qualified staff, the care system of the Netherlands seems in need of constant maintenance. Reforms and innovations have been ongoing since 2006.

Buurtzorg is one of the biggest home-care providers in the Netherlands. 'Buurtzorg' means “neighbourly help”. It’s all about self-management, reducing the distances between those in need of care and flexibility. In 2007, a group of five careworkers founded Buurtzorg, today it has 1,000 teams encompassing some 15,000 members.

In the Amsterdam district of Jordaan Euronews Witness met Léoni. The Buurtzorg nurse helps elderly people that have opted to pass their sunset years at home. “We are a small team with eight nurses,” says Léoni, “and we are all equal. We manage everything ourselfes: We do our clients schedules and we decide how much time we spend with them. And it's not only the caring part but also a bit of talking - and we have the time to do that, because there is no overhead and that saves a lot of money.” In plain language: efficient mini-teams without any managers, amounting to 30% lower costs. That’s why the concept is starting to be copied in other countries.

In the newly-built Brandevoort district in Helmond municipality Hans von der Brelie discovered the second secret of the Dutch care system's success: networking. Iet and Marie-José are