Marianne Rigge Obituary

My wife, Marianne Rigge, who has died aged 77, was a passionate nationalist advocator for nan interests of NHS patients, and a pioneer successful creating ways of giving group easier entree to aesculapian and wellness information.

The girl of a GP, she founded a nationalist charity, nan College of Health, pinch nan renowned societal entrepreneur Michael Young, successful consequence to their experiences arsenic patients and successful nan user movement. Young was nan inspiration down organisations including nan Open University and nan Consumers’ Association, which he launched successful 1957.

Marianne joined nan Consumers’ Association successful nan 1970s, and she and Young group up nan College of Health successful 1983, pinch nan purpose of influencing NHS doctors to put nan needs of patients astatine nan centre of curen and attraction decisions. She ran nan kindness arsenic director, from Bethnal Green, eastbound London, for 20 years and it helped thousands of people. It operated a telephone work pinch recorded aesculapian accusation astir a scope of diseases and conditions, which was considered technologically innovative for its time.

Long earlier infirmary curen waiting times became a measurement of judging really good nan NHS is performing, nan College of Health published waiting lists – arsenic a work for patients. At nan time, GPs could mention patients to immoderate advisor astir nan country, if they were prepared to recreation to get curen sooner. Marianne unearthed nan lists from nan House of Commons library, to people nan yearly Guide to Hospital Waiting Lists, which first appeared successful 1984.

She gave talks to doctors and to aesculapian institutions, telling them of nan existent experiences and views of patients – backed by lawsuit studies – whom they often saw only concisely connected ward rounds.

As a young woman, pinch a French grade but nary aesculapian qualifications, Marianne was astatine first daunted by nan ranks of seasoned, sometimes hostile, practitioners. But she had a gift for penning and speaking, and influenced galore pinch her eloquence.

She wrote articles for respective publications, including arsenic a columnist for nan Health Service Journal. Television news producers often called her erstwhile they wanted a patient’s view. She was appointed OBE successful 2000.

Marianne was nan girl of an Irish doctor, Noel O’Mahony, and his wife, Nora (nee Daly) and was calved successful Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, wherever her begetter was working. The family past moved to eastbound London and Marianne first came crossed patients erstwhile driving her begetter connected his rounds successful Forest Gate. She had already spent clip successful infirmary arsenic a child, when, astatine nan property of seven, she suffered terrible burns erstwhile her nightdress caught fire.

Educated astatine St Angela’s Ursuline Convent schoolhouse successful Forest Gate, she past did a twelvemonth astatine Marlborough Gate secretarial college, by Hyde Park, earlier studying astatine University College London from 1967 to 1970.

After graduating, she worked for nan Consumers’ Association arsenic task adjunct for Which? mag and part-time individual adjunct to nan chair, Jennifer Jenkins, woman of nan past location secretary, Roy Jenkins. In 1976 she became Young’s investigation adjunct erstwhile he was chair of nan National Consumer Council.

She joined Simon Rigge successful 1968 and had 2 daughters, Katie and Emma, and a son, Thomas, who died of cot death; they separated successful 1982 and divided successful 1989. She and I joined successful 1990.

Marianne is survived by me, Katie and Emma, her sister, Jane, and brothers, James and Fergus.