YEP Says: A lasting, caring legacy that will not be forgotten

Dr. Granger at work in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield

That she did, and that she will continue to do.

Her death at the age of 34 will be greeted with great sadness not just across Yorkshire, but internationally, thanks to the success of her campaign for more compassionate care.

It is to be hoped that the knowledge of the respect and admiration in which Dr Granger was held will provide some comfort to her husband, Chris, and all those who mourn her.

For her legacy is a great one.

Her campaign #hellomynameis was borne of a conversation with Chris when she expressed frustration about the lack of introductions from the healthcare staff looking after her.

“Being the practical optimist that Chris is,” she wrote on her blog, “he simply told me to ‘stop whinging darling and if it is that important to you, do something about it.’

“So we did.”

The campaign has been embraced across the world, and 400,000 health workers from 90 organisations support it.

Her MBE and the Special Achievement Award from the BMJ were richly deserved.

Her fund-raising was indefatigable.

To raise £250,000 for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre Appeal in a relatively short period was a remarkable feat.

But above all, it is Dr Granger’s concern for greater compassion in care that will live on.

This was a campaign born of her own personal experience, which gave it both immediacy and moral authority.

That she was a doctor gave it an additional dimension, because she knew the realities of care from the medical professional’s point of view, as well as that of a patient’s.

Her writing about being terminally ill and her determination to get people talking about death was vivid and moving, buoyant and full of humour, and will continue to inspire others.

And that is what Dr Kate Granger was above all else – inspirational.

We are all the poorer for her passing, but the greatest tribute we can pay her memory is to continue to support the campaign that she started.

Farewell Kate, you and your legacy will never be forgotten. We are so proud of you.