TEAMS of residents with no professional care experience will be asked to look after neighbours in a £100,000 trial to help solve Oxfordshire carer shortage.

Oxfordshire County Council is testing the Dutch-inspired model in a bid to 'unlock the county's untapped potential'.

The scheme, so far in England tested only in Wigan, will be piloted in Abingdon and Wallingford.

Managed by specialist company Wellbeing Teams, only people who live within a five mile radius of those they will care for will be recruited but they do not need to have any experience in the care industry.

Carers will simply need to be able to offer up to 22 hours a week and have a ‘clear commitment and pride’ in their local area and community.

Helen Sanderson of Manchester-based Wellbeing Teams had been in discussion with adult social care managers at the council for some time and plans will now begin to be implemented with the help of a charity called Community Circles.

Ms Sanderson, who was originally inspired by a well-known self-management model of care that has been pioneered in Buurtzorg, Holland, said: “It’s very exciting to be working in Oxfordshire with what is a new concept based on traditional community values, and a new way of working in self-organising teams. People are committed to their own communities, they know the people, places and resources, they love their towns and villages, they’ve often known their neighbours for years and they care about their welfare already.”

Rather than relying on CVs and traditional interviews, interested people are invited to a three-hour workshop and asked for a one-page profile.

Kate Terroni, director for adult social care at the county council, said: “The CQC have acknowledged this is a brand new model of care.

"As ever, our prime motive in getting involved with it is to provide quality care and help people live at home – but this is a very different way of achieving that aim.

“It has the potential to unlock untapped potential for the home care market by reaching out to people who’d not normally consider working in the care industry and at the same time creating a much more varied workforce.

“Workforce recruitment issues in the care industry have been well documented in our county. This is both exciting and innovative and I look forward to teams taking shape in Abingdon and Wallingford.”

See wellbeingteams.org