Ann McPherson
Encyclopedia
Doctor Ann McPherson CBE
FRCGP FRCP SCH (née Egelnick, 22 June 1945 – 28 May 2011) was a British General Practitioner, author, health campaigner and communicator who co-founded The DIPEx Charity
and founded Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying.
, North London. She was the only child of Sadie and Max Egelnick, a tailor
. Both parents were secular Jewish Communists from Eastern European immigrant families. Ann was a good student at Copthall County Grammar School in Mill Hill
but found it difficult to get a place to study medicine owing to her political background and gender. However, she was offered a place at St George’s Hospital Medical School
where she excelled in her studies and busied herself with social, political and academic activities.
Ann was committed to demystifying medicine, improving ‘the patient journey’ and helping doctors and patients to understand each other.
, London and at Harvard, in Boston USA. In 1979 Ann became Principal at a practice in Oxford
where she worked until 2007 when she retired for her own health reasons. As a GP Ann became known for having a ‘sixth sense’ in diagnosing her patients. Ann was respected for being ready to fight her patients’ corner with consultants and for being available to concerned patients by phone on evenings and weekends.
Following her own experience of overcoming breast cancer
, Ann co-founded the Database of Individual Patient Experiences or ‘DIPEx
’, with the aim of providing a resource that would enable patients, families and health professionals to understand the experience of a variety of health conditions, by watching video clips of people talking about their experiences. The websites healthtalkonline.org and youthhealthtalk.org now cover over 60 health conditions. The research is carried out by The Health Experiences Research Group at Oxford University. The group was founded by Ann herself and she held the position of Medical Director, until her death in 2011.
At the time Ann passed away, she was fundraising towards establishing The Health Experiences Research Institute in Oxford with the aim of becoming "the world’s first interdisciplinary academic research centre dedicated to understanding the attitudes, values and experiences of people coping with illness or making decisions about their health, and to use this to make a difference" at Green Templeton College.
Ann was a champion of young people’s health and held the position of Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners
adolescent task group, served on the Independent Advisory Committee on Teenage Pregnancy and was a founding Trustee of the Association of Young People’s Health.
and on the Today programme
) and Sky News
. Ann was also a Patron of Dignity in Dying
.
Ann recovered from breast cancer in the late 1990s but was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007. Ann died on 28 May 2011 aged 65.
Among those paying tribute to Ann was the actor Hugh Grant
, whom Ann had persuaded to become Patron to The DIPEx Charity. He said “Ann was an amazing woman, doctor, author, campaigner and founder of the inspired healthtalkonline. I am so delighted she nagged me into helping with it and I am so sorry for her family, for medicine and for the country that she has gone”.
for her work on women’s and adolescent health. Ann received the Medical Journalists’ Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2010. In 2011 Ann received the British Medical Journal
’s Health Communicator of the Year award. The award was accepted on Ann’s behalf by her husband Klim and Hugh Grant
, as Patron on The DIPEx Charity
. In Hugh Grant's speech he described Ann as "part Doctor, part campaigner, part stalker" in reference to her unyielding efforts to secure his support for The DIPEx charity
.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
FRCGP FRCP SCH (née Egelnick, 22 June 1945 – 28 May 2011) was a British General Practitioner, author, health campaigner and communicator who co-founded The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity is an Oxford-based health charity that works closely with the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford to disseminate research into personal experiences of health and illness. The charity publishes two websites called Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk...
and founded Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying.
Early life
Ann was born and grew up in Golders GreenGolders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
, North London. She was the only child of Sadie and Max Egelnick, a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
. Both parents were secular Jewish Communists from Eastern European immigrant families. Ann was a good student at Copthall County Grammar School in Mill Hill
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
but found it difficult to get a place to study medicine owing to her political background and gender. However, she was offered a place at St George’s Hospital Medical School
St George's, University of London
St George's, University of London is a medical school located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
where she excelled in her studies and busied herself with social, political and academic activities.
Career
Ann was committed to demystifying medicine, improving ‘the patient journey’ and helping doctors and patients to understand each other.
General Practitioner
Having graduated with a distinction in 1968, Ann chose to pursue General Practice and trained at Caversham Practice in Kentish TownKentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
, London and at Harvard, in Boston USA. In 1979 Ann became Principal at a practice in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
where she worked until 2007 when she retired for her own health reasons. As a GP Ann became known for having a ‘sixth sense’ in diagnosing her patients. Ann was respected for being ready to fight her patients’ corner with consultants and for being available to concerned patients by phone on evenings and weekends.
Following her own experience of overcoming breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, Ann co-founded the Database of Individual Patient Experiences or ‘DIPEx
The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity is an Oxford-based health charity that works closely with the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford to disseminate research into personal experiences of health and illness. The charity publishes two websites called Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk...
’, with the aim of providing a resource that would enable patients, families and health professionals to understand the experience of a variety of health conditions, by watching video clips of people talking about their experiences. The websites healthtalkonline.org and youthhealthtalk.org now cover over 60 health conditions. The research is carried out by The Health Experiences Research Group at Oxford University. The group was founded by Ann herself and she held the position of Medical Director, until her death in 2011.
At the time Ann passed away, she was fundraising towards establishing The Health Experiences Research Institute in Oxford with the aim of becoming "the world’s first interdisciplinary academic research centre dedicated to understanding the attitudes, values and experiences of people coping with illness or making decisions about their health, and to use this to make a difference" at Green Templeton College.
Ann was a champion of young people’s health and held the position of Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of General Practitioners
The Royal College of General Practitioners is the professional body for general practitioners in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including licensing, education, training, research and clinical standards. It is the largest of the medical royal colleges, with...
adolescent task group, served on the Independent Advisory Committee on Teenage Pregnancy and was a founding Trustee of the Association of Young People’s Health.
Author
Ann published 30 books including Women’s Health in General Practice, written with Deborah Waller. In 1987 Ann co-authored the book ‘Diary of Teenage Health Freak’ with Aidan McFarlane. The book was published in 27 languages, sold over 1 million copies. The book inspired Ann and Aidan to set up a website, Teenagehealthfreak.org, where children and teenagers can find out about health issues and contact ‘Dr. Ann’ the virtual doctor with their problems.Campaigning for Assisted Dying
In 2009, Ann wrote an article for the British Medical Journal in support of a change in the law to allow terminally ill patients the option of assisted suicide or 'assisted dying' which was the term that Ann preferred. She received numerous emails and letters from other doctors in support of her position. Encouraged by this support, she founded Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying in October 2010, which had more than 400 members at the time of writing. Ann took her campaign to the mainstream media appearing, among others, in the IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and on the Today programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
) and Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. Ann was also a Patron of Dignity in Dying
Dignity in Dying
Dignity in Dying is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to have 25,000 actively subscribing supporters...
.
Personal life
Ann married Klim McPherson in May 1968 and enjoyed and full and busy social life. Klim and Ann lived in North Oxford and had 3 children; Sam, Tess and Beth who produced five grandchildren with one more on the way, at the time Ann passed away. Ann enjoyed spending time in the South of France relaxing with her family.Ann recovered from breast cancer in the late 1990s but was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007. Ann died on 28 May 2011 aged 65.
Among those paying tribute to Ann was the actor Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, whom Ann had persuaded to become Patron to The DIPEx Charity. He said “Ann was an amazing woman, doctor, author, campaigner and founder of the inspired healthtalkonline. I am so delighted she nagged me into helping with it and I am so sorry for her family, for medicine and for the country that she has gone”.
Awards and accolades
In 2000 Ann was given a CBECBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
for her work on women’s and adolescent health. Ann received the Medical Journalists’ Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2010. In 2011 Ann received the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
’s Health Communicator of the Year award. The award was accepted on Ann’s behalf by her husband Klim and Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, as Patron on The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity is an Oxford-based health charity that works closely with the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford to disseminate research into personal experiences of health and illness. The charity publishes two websites called Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk...
. In Hugh Grant's speech he described Ann as "part Doctor, part campaigner, part stalker" in reference to her unyielding efforts to secure his support for The DIPEx charity
The DIPEx Charity
The DIPEx Charity is an Oxford-based health charity that works closely with the Health Experiences Research Group at the University of Oxford to disseminate research into personal experiences of health and illness. The charity publishes two websites called Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk...
.
Publications
- Diary of a Teenage Health Freak (1987)
- Women’s Health in General Practice (1997)
- Adolescents: the Agony, the Ecstasy, the Answers: A book for Parents (1999)
- Sex: The Facts (2003)
- Drugs: The Facts (2003)
- Bullying: The Facts (2004)
- Relationships: The facts (2004)
- The Truth: a teenager’s survival guide (2007)