Lister's relationship with patients: A successful case

Abstract

An important aspect of Joseph Lister's work that has received relatively little attention is his relationship with patients. However, a manuscript written by one of his patients, Margaret Mathewson's 'A Sketch of Eight Months a patient, in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, A.D. 1877', provides detail about the surgeon as seen 'from below'-that is, by a charity patient. Although excerpts from Mathewson's 'Sketch' have previously been published, an earlier version of the 'Sketch' has only recently been identified as such. That earlier version represents Lister not only as actively concerned with patient education, but also as strongly supportive of patients' rights, encouraging ward patients to report maltreatment at the hands of the staff. © 2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society.