Ed Patrick, Stefania Licari and Michael Akadiri. Photograph: Simon Webb/The Observer
So there was this case…” begins Dr Stefania Licari. For a moment you don’t know whether to expect her expert medical opinion or a punchline. A patient on the intensive care ward was in desperate need of a dialysis machine – without it, Licari thought, he would be unlikely to survive the night. She had spent almost an hour talking to him, empathising, trying to explain that this was life-saving treatment. But the man refused: he was exhausted and distressed, and wanted to go home.
“At a certain point, I realised I was losing him,” says Licari. So she tried something different – she cracked a joke. The man laughed, then was quiet. Licari accepted defeat. She told him that she respected his decision and went to leave. But the patient called after her. He’d changed his mind. He would stay and have the treatment.
