Kate Miriam Granger (31 October 1981 – 23 July 2016) was an English

geriatrician Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' meani ...

and campaigner for better patient care. In 2011 she was diagnosed with

desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive and rare cancer that primarily occurs as masses in the abdomen. Other areas affected may include the lymph nodes, the lining of the abdomen, diaphragm, spleen, liver, chest wall, skull ...

(DSRCT), a type of

sarcoma A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues. Sarcom ...

, and subsequently started the "#hellomynameis" campaign encouraging healthcare staff to introduce themselves to patients. Granger also raised over £250,000 for local cancer charity, the Yorkshire Cancer Centre Appeal (now Leeds Cancer Centre Charity).

Early life

Originally from

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, West Yorkshire, Granger studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, obtaining a BSc in

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

in 2002 and an

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 2005. After qualifying she returned to West Yorkshire to work, obtaining a position with the

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust runs Pontefract Hospital, Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield and Dewsbury and District Hospital and community health services in Wakefield, all in West Yorkshire, England. It has been under financial pressure ...

, at

Pinderfields Hospital Pinderfields Hospital is an acute District General Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire operated by the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust. History The original acute hospital in Wakefield was established as part of the Stanley Royd Hospital and ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

Illness

Granger first became ill when on holiday in California in July 2011 with her husband Chris Pointon. She was treated in the Emergency Room in Santa Cruz when her

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

s failed. She returned to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and was given further tests. When told the diagnosis, she knew that DSRCT that had

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

had "an utterly dismal

prognosis Prognosis ( Greek: πρόγνωσις "fore-knowing, foreseeing"; : prognoses) is a medical term for predicting the likelihood or expected development of a disease, including whether the signs and symptoms will improve or worsen (and how quickly) ...

". She was treated with P6 protocol

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

and endured painful treatments which she described in detail in her blog ''"The Other Side and the Bright Side"''. She described how the news that her condition was incurable was broken to her: Granger was the subject the second ever Dying Matters Annual Lecture 2014, with a filmed conversation with Granger. After her diagnosis, Granger continued her medical training and qualified as a consultant geriatrician. During the latter stages of her illness, she was treated at St Gemma's Hospice,

. She died on 23 July 2016, aged 34.

Campaigns

#hellomynameis

Granger started the #hellomynameis campaign in 2013, chiefly using Twitter, where by the time of her death, she had over 40,000 followers. The campaign name was the Twitter hashtag #hellomynameis, which has received more than 1.5 billion Twitter impressions. It was intended to encourage healthcare staff to introduce themselves to patients, following her experiences that she discussed in her boo
The Other Side
On 31 August 2015, the second anniversary of the campaign, she recalled: Kate spoke at the NHS Confederation annual conference in 2014 on the campaign. , the campaign has been endorsed by more than 400,000

doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

therapists A therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. They are helpful in counseling individuals for various mental ...

receptionist A receptionist is an Employment, employee taking an office or Business administration, administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting room, waiting area such as a Lobby (room), lobby or front office desk of an organ ...

s and porters across over 90 organisations, including NHS Trusts across England,

NHS Scotland NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly–funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland ...

NHS Wales NHS Wales () is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service () in the United Kingdom. NHS Wales was formed as part of the public health system for England and Wales crea ...

and the NHS in Northern Ireland. She had spoken passionately at many health conferences and her campaign is supported by the former Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

, Health Secretary

Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...

, many celebrities, and a significant number of leaders in health organisations in the UK and overseas. The campaign continues each 23 July (the anniversary of her death) across the NHS. In 2020 Leeds Cares published videos from staff to celebrate Kate and continue to campaign to improve patient care.

Fundraising

Granger donated proceeds from the sales of her two books, and sponsored events such as a tandem skydiving jump, to cancer research. In total she raised over £250,000 for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre.

Awards and honours

In February 2014, NHS England created th
Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care
These annual awards are in honour of Granger to "recognise an individual, team or organisation that has made a positive difference to patient care". In 2017, the publicly voted fo
Yorkshire Choice Awards
introduced the Kate Granger Award for Outstanding Achievement
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
launched the European Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care in 2018. In 2019, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust gave an award in Kate's honour as part of their Leeds Hospital Heroes for making a positive difference on the patient experience. In June 2014, Granger was elected as a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, the first doctor in training that the college had elected as a fellow, in recognition of her contribution to healthcare. Granger was made a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to the NHS and improving care. Her award was presented to her at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, in June 2015. Also in 2015, she was made an honorary Doctor of Science by

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

. In 2016, Granger received a special achievement award from the

BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world' ...

, honouring her for her work on the "Hello, my name is" campaign.

References

Publications

* * *Granger, Kate; Healthcare staff must properly introduce themselves to patients. BMJ 2013; 347 (Published 2 October 2013)

External links

Kate Granger's blog

#hellomynameis
on Twitter
#hellomynameis Website
* Campbell M
Remembering Kate Miriam Granger: 1981–2016
' ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' 27 July 2016 * Kapur
Name badges and job titles to keep Kate Granger's legacy alive
''

'' 16 August 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Kate 1981 births 2016 deaths 21st-century English medical doctors English health activists British geriatricians Women geriatricians Members of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in England Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School Charity fundraisers (people) People from Huddersfield Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Medical doctors from Yorkshire 20th-century English philanthropists