In this short opinion piece, career and consumer advisor Belinda MacLeod-Smith challenges us to consider crucial elements of whole patient care, and how they can be impacted by limiting factors. Caring for someone with ongoing, occasionally acute, health needs means I have a high level of interest when it comes to hospital-based services and the concept of ‘whole patient’ care. My husband and I often reflect that as a survivor of heart failure, severe sepsis and total organ failure following heart transplant, it’s technically a miracle he’s still alive and thriving. His survival is an absolute testament to the medical expertise available as part of Australia’s system of universal healthcare.

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