What matters to you?

What matters to you, for me, is a question of humanity. In this video with Jason Leitch, the national clinical director of the Scottish government, he speaks about improving the lives of those in medical care by asking one simple question.

What matters to you?

In this video, Jason Leitch tells the story of Dawn. Dawn needs a defibrillator to live and needs to undergo surgery to insert this machine into his heart. What matters to dawn are his fuchsias. They are Dawns life. Jason Leitch quotes in the video 3 minutes and 30 seconds in that “they are more important to dawn than life itself”. He cannot fully rest or begin to recover without wanting to take care of his fuchsias. When asked in this model of “What matters to me?”, Dawn mentions his fuchsias and medical staff make the effort to bring his fuchsias to the hospital where he is being treated. Because of this, Dawn didn’t discharge himself and was able to get his surgery and make  full recovery.

This model to me allows humans to be humans and individually have access to the things that make them individual and joyful. Who are these people beyond this medical context and how can they continue to be these people whilst in the systems care?

I then ask myself the same question of prisoners and why this model isn’t being implemented in prison.

Scottish Prison Service Vision

Notice how the Scottish Prison Service use the  word care when referring to their prisoners. They care for the people in this system. So why are we caring from them in a different way to this medical “what matters to you?” model? I believe this simple question can be asked to allow those in the care of our prison systems a chance to rehabilitate themselves. This is a  way of remembering prisoners are individual humans who are more than their crime and allows them to remain individual whilst in the care of the system.

The website https://www.whatmatterstoyou.scot/why-ask/  outlines why it is important to ask what matters in care contexts.

Why ask what matters?

 

So if we are to understand the most humane, efficient way to help prisoners individually rehabilitate and move forward, surely we should be asking them what matters to them understanding these people as human beings with lives and things that are important to them. Surely stripping this right from people as well as their freedom is not the best method of care that can be offered in the Scottish Prison System?

Who are these people beyond this prison context and how can they continue to be these people whilst in the systems care care?

 

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1 Response

  1. Indra Wilson says:

    Hiya Holly! I think this is super interesting what you have just raised about the difference in the medical understanding of humans vs the understanding of imprisonment. I have been reflecting on this myself with my own work in the medical sector. When I was creating my book over the summer, there so many different people that I had to prove that I could work in that context. I had to bring examples every week to new boards or charities about how I was handling the participants with the right level of care and knowledge. This was because of how society saw people with cancer as vulnerable and as victims who need the right aftercare. However, when society sees inmates as bad people or people who need punishment, I question if anyone would check up on their treatment? Or care? This leads me to think about how much responsibility we as artists have to do the right type of practice- In a safe way. Anyway, Rant over! Just thought it could be interesting to share my opinion and experience. Thanks for another great read!

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