TRIBUTES have been paid to a retired doctor who pioneered rheumatic care for children across the world.

Although Dr Barbara Ansell CBE was primarily based in London, she held combined clinics in the region for many years and treated numerous children with conditions such as arthritis.

She died, aged 78, on September 14.

Dr Abdul Jaleel, a retired consultant rheumatologist and British Medical Association representative in the Darlington area, held Dr Ansell in extremely high esteem.

During his time working in Darlington and Northallerton between 1972 and 1995, he was involved in many clinics with Dr Ansell.

He said: "She established service for children with arthritis in Darlington and, indeed, in the North-East.

"It is entirely down to her that we have any children's arthritis clinics in the North-East now. She was a larger-than-life figure in every sense of the word: generous in her time, and she dedicated her life to the care of children with chronic rheumatic diseases.

"The other thing about Barbara was that despite her international status, she was humble - a very humble person."

Dr Ansell, who was awarded the CBE in 1982, was educated in Warwick before winning a Queens scholarship at Birmingham University Medical School, in 1945.

Despite lucrative offers of professorships in North America, she decided to continue her work in this country. She was honoured in many countries and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1967 and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1985.

Dr Jaleel said: "Her death brings an end to an era. One of the great figures of medicine in the UK has gone."