Episode 15 – What matters to you: putting personalised care into practice

Summary In this episode, Tim is joined by GP and senior NHS leader Dr Iolanthe Fowler to explore the simple but powerful question: what matters to you? Drawing on her experience across general practice, community services and hospital leadership, Iolanthe reflects on how person-centred care can be embedded in busy healthcare settings without losing sight of the human being in front of you. The conversation explores why good care does not begin only with diagnosis, treatment plans or organisational pathways, but with understanding what matters most to the patient, colleague or team member in that moment. Tim and Iolanthe discuss how coaching has influenced the way they both work and how coaching-informed conversations can help people think more clearly, feel more heard and make decisions that are realistic for their lives. Iolanthe shares how these ideas have shaped practical changes within Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, from coaching programmes for staff to What Matters to You? appraisals and community-based services that start with the person’s agenda rather than the system’s. The episode also looks at the wider cultural shift needed to make this approach stick. They reflect on the tension between highly pressurised healthcare environments and the need for compassionate, personalised care, arguing that asking better questions is not an added extra but a more effective way of working. Takeaways What matters to you? is a simple question that can change the direction of a conversation. Person-centred care begins with listening, not just diagnosis or advice. Coaching skills can help patients and colleagues think more clearly and feel more heard. Shared decision-making works best when the person’s agenda is understood first. Compassionate conversations can improve both patient experience and staff wellbeing. This approach is not about replacing clinical expertise, but making it more effective. Better conversations can reduce frustration, complaints and non-value-adding care. Healthcare staff often find this way of working more meaningful and energising. Embedding personalised care requires culture change, not just one-off training. Trust, autonomy and compassionate leadership are essential to making change stick. Small practical shifts, such as changing the way appraisals are approached, can have a wider organisational impact. Health systems work better when they are designed around what matters to people.