Hello, my name is Kate

On the 1 August 2014, over 60 Trust staff were privileged to listen to Dr Kate Granger speak about how she is coping with a diagnosis of terminal cancer and how her compassionate care movement #hellomynameis started.

32 year old Dr Granger spoke about the importance of always putting the person first and in the centre, using her personal experiences to powerfully illustrate this point.

Dawn Stephenson, director of corporate development said, ”We were absolutely delighted to welcome Dr Kate Granger. Kate’s home town is Wakefield and, fittingly, she visited our Trust on Yorkshire Day, 1st August.

“It is the first time Kate has spoken in a Trust that provides mental health care. Her inspiriting insights are certainly relevant for any healthcare setting and we all took a lot away from the event, particularly how so much of what she said echoed one of our Trust’s core values, ‘person first and in the centre’.

“We want Kate’s message to reach all our staff, not just those lucky enough to attend on the day, so she kindly gave us permission to film her talk. I hope this means that even more people, both in our own Trust and outside it, can be inspired by this remarkable woman.”

Dr Granger has terminal cancer but continues to work as an elderly medicine registrar. She has started a campaign on Twitter asking NHS staff to make a pledge to always introduce themselves to people they are caring for. You can follow the campaign on Twitter via #hellomynameis

Two books written by Dr Granger are available for purchase at www.theothersidestory.co.uk. She is also completing a sky dive on 17 August, despite being terrified of heights, with all funds raised going to Yorkshire Cancer Centre. Sponsor Kate at www.justgiving.com/kate-granger.