Tessa Richards Obituary

My friend Tessa Richards, who has died of crab aged 75, was a expert and aesculapian editor who campaigned indomitably for patients to beryllium partners adjacent pinch doctors successful healthcare. In addition, she transformed nan narration that nan BMJ (formerly nan British Medical Journal), wherever she worked for 40 years, had pinch patients.

When Tessa graduated successful medicine from Guy’s infirmary aesculapian schoolhouse successful London successful 1973, doctors dominated patients, and did what they thought champion for them. There was nary civilization of patients being adjacent partners, and doctors discussing options pinch them. As Tessa wrote successful 1990: “Even nan briefest spell connected nan different broadside of nan table aliases successful a infirmary furniture gives blinding penetration into patients’ vulnerability and of their request to beryllium listened to, treated pinch respect, and fixed full, unhurried, jargon-free explanations.” Nor were patients progressive successful nan readying of care, and successful aesculapian investigation they were subjects, not partners.

Tessa joined nan BMJ arsenic an adjunct editor having worked for 10 years arsenic a infirmary expert and a GP successful London. When she arrived successful 1983, patients mightiness beryllium pictured naked successful nan diary without their consent and pinch conscionable a achromatic set crossed their eyes intended to disguise their identity, a instrumentality that was later understood to beryllium wholly ineffective.

By nan clip she near successful 2023, nan diary had a diligent editor, a diligent advisory board, and much than a 1000 diligent and nationalist reviewers. Tessa led a strategy to incorporated patients into nan diary and, crucially, ensured that it was implemented. Patients are now progressive successful each parts of nan editorial process.

Over nan years, Tessa wrote astir 50 articles showing really wellness professionals moving pinch patients arsenic partners could amended diligent outcomes and restitution and trim costs. She worked tirelessly pinch others, and is wide recognised arsenic a leader successful diligent partnership. Now patients are portion of readying wellness policy, and activity pinch wellness organisations specified arsenic nan royal colleges; and nan government’s investigation backing body, nan National Institute for Health Research, requires that patients beryllium included arsenic partners successful research.

In 2003 Tessa was diagnosed pinch adrenal cancer, a crab that past commonly killed wrong a year. She underwent a awesome cognition connected her thorax and abdomen and knowledgeable monolithic humor loss. This acquisition turbocharged her passion for diligent partnership.

Born successful Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to Kenneth Richards, a husbandman and film-maker, and Pamela (nee Knight), who became caput of English astatine Benenden school, Tessa attended Bruton schoolhouse for girls successful Somerset and studied medicine astatine Leeds University earlier arriving astatine Guy’s.

In 1985 she joined Charles Smallwood, a City solicitor, and they went connected to person 3 children. Tessa was a keen tennis and squash player, enjoyed skiing, farming and theatre, and was an inveterate traveller, taking immoderate excuse to get connected a level to far-flung destinations, and visiting her brother, who lived successful Colombia and Japan, respective times.

She is survived by Charles and their children, Nick, Christo and Poppy, and granddaughter, Iniya, and by her brother, Christopher, and sister, Vivien.