The healthcare world mourns Marianne Rigge OBE, a formidable champion for NHS patients who dedicated her life to ensuring people had better access to medical information and a stronger voice in their own care. She has died at the age of 77.
Pioneering Patient Information and Advocacy
With a background in the consumer rights movement and as the daughter of a GP, Rigge co-founded the national charity, the College of Health, in 1983 alongside the renowned social entrepreneur Michael Young. For two decades, she served as its director from its base in Bethnal Green, east London.
The charity's mission was clear and radical for its time: to influence NHS doctors to place patient needs at the very heart of all treatment decisions. One of its most innovative services was a telephone line offering recorded medical information on a wide range of diseases, a groundbreaking use of technology that helped thousands.
Exposing Hospital Waiting Lists for Patient Choice
Long before official NHS performance targets, Rigge and the College of Health took the revolutionary step of publishing hospital waiting lists. She sourced the data from the House of Commons library to create the annual Guide to Hospital Waiting Lists, first published in 1984.
This empowered patients and GPs, who at the time could refer people to consultants anywhere in the country. For those willing to travel, it meant the possibility of significantly shorter waits for treatment.
A Powerful Voice Without a Medical Degree
Despite holding a French degree and no formal medical qualifications, Rigge became a respected and influential figure in medical circles. She regularly addressed doctors and medical institutions, presenting them with detailed case studies that revealed the real-world experiences of the patients they treated.
Her eloquence and gift for communication made her a sought-after commentator. She wrote articles as a columnist for the Health Service Journal and was frequently contacted by television news producers seeking the patient's perspective on health stories. Her significant contributions were recognised with an OBE in 2000.
Marianne Rigge's legacy is a UK health service that is more transparent, better informed, and fundamentally more focused on the people it serves.
