In memory of Dr Kate Granger

On 23 July 2016, Dr Kate Granger—who campaigned tirelessly to improve communication in health care despite her own deteriorating health from an aggressive form of cancer—sadly passed away, aged just 34. During Kate's short life, she achieved so much. She had qualified as a consultant geriatrician and was the proud creator of the #hellomynameis campaign. At the time of her death she had raised £250 000 for charity. This would be an amazing achievement for anyone, let alone someone fighting a battle with terminal cancer.

It was during one of Kate's many hospital admissions back in 2013 that the idea of #hellomynameis was born. Kate noticed that many staff caring for her did not follow the basic steps in communication, with some failing even to introduce themselves. She became frustrated at the lack of basic human interaction and set up a campaign to encourage all staff to begin their interactions with patients with the simple phrase, ‘Hello, my name is…’