'Thoughtful Health Care' offers a timely antidote to a climate dominated by endless rules, regulations, mission statements and codes of practice. Fixation on avoiding risk at all costs has created a checkbox culture where everyone is treated according to standardised plans. But people are complicated, and cannot be understood disconnected from the complex histories, values, and environments that shape us. Obsessive focus on 'safety first' has obscured this reality and drastically undervalued critical thinking and insightful practice.