As part of the TICC programme, Buurtzorg Britain and Ireland and other UK partners have attended a Coaching Workshop in Utrecht delivered by Buurtzorg Netherlands.
Buurtzorg breaks the usual mould of manager and a team of subordinates to replace it with the concept of a self-managed team, placing trust in the professionals working in them to make the best decisions around how to deliver services and make the best use of available resources.
The net result is better care for those receiving services and happier more fulfilled employees. The front-line teams are supported by a small back office function so organisation structure is kept simple and bureaucracy is reduced.
It would be naïve to think that teams do not face challenges or have significant issues to address. Where this is the case, they have the option to call upon a ‘Coach’ for support and guidance to help them find a constructive way forward.
For many organisations developing Buurtzorg Inspired working practices, getting the coaching role right is crucial to ensure the new pilot teams have the right support in place. This workshop gave new Coaches the opportunity to explore the role of the coach, share difficulties and learn from each other and especially our Dutch colleagues who developed the model and have been doing this for 10 years. At Buurtzorg Britain and Ireland, we are developing a new coaching programme to support Coaches new to the role and way of working, led by our Consultant, Tania Eber.
Through TICC, organisations are establishing this way of working in three countries, including Kent County Council and Kent and Medway Community Health NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK.
Transforming Integrated Care in Community (TICC) is a European collaborative project aiming at adapting, deploying and evaluating an innovative organisational model for the home-based care and services sector in the 2Seas area (England, Belgium, Holland, France), relying on the “Buurtzorg” methodology.