Dame Rosemary Rue, who has died aged 76, drew on her own difficult experiences as hospital doctor and general practitioner to become a highly effective medical administrator, and president of the Women's Medical Federation in 1982-83. One of her greatest achievements was that she personally opened career opportunities for women doctors, by enabling them to work part-time while training to be specialists.
She was assistant county medical officer in Oxford when, in the mid-1960s, she argued for funds to support four married women doctors in specialist training; by the end of the year, she had placed not four but 40, and had a queue outside her office begging for more. By the end of the next year, 100 women were in post and "the part-time training scheme for married women doctors" was born. This evolved into the flexible training scheme now in use throughout Britain. Many women - "Rosemary's babies" - have immense reason to be grateful for her support at this pivotal stage in their careers.
Rosemary Laurence was born in Essex, one of three children of an accountant father and a musician mother. The family moved to London and she gained a scholarship to Sydenham high school. During the second world war, she was evacuated to Totnes in Devon, where she developed peritonitis from tuberculosis. This left her bed-bound for almost a year, and in complete isolation for months, but was the inspiration for studying medicine.
In 1945, she took a place at the London School of Medicine for Women, Royal Free Hospital, one of the few establishments where women could then study medicine. When she married Roger Rue, an ex-RAF pilot, she resigned; the dean at the Royal Free told her married women students were not accepted on the course. Applying to Oxford University medical school, she took her final London MB and BS exams there in 1951.
Working in medicine as a married woman was not straightforward: hospitals did not employ married women doctors. She was not deterred and found employment in a long-stay hospital outside Oxford, until the authorities found out about her status and summarily dismissed her. Her talents and commitment had been recognised, and she was offered a position in general practice in Oxford, her patients being mostly workers at the Cowley motor plant.
In 1954, she contracted polio; the last case of paralytic polio in Oxfordshire. This hospitalised her for five months, before she was discharged with two sticks and a caliper. Ten years of rehabilitation and five major surgical procedures later, she could walk without help. She moved to live with her parents in Hertfordshire, having separated from her husband, and found work in a general practice with a doctor who had had an amputation for a bone tumour. They joked that together they had two good legs.
In 1960, she moved into medical administrative posts, using her talents and energy to develop and improve services for communities. From her initial appointment as assistant county medical officer for Hertfordshire, she rose to become regional medical officer for Oxford health authority from 1973 to 1984, a role she then combined with regional general manager until retirement in 1988.
During this period, she played a significant role in the development of public health as a speciality in Britain. She was one of the key people who founded the Faculty of Community Medicine (now the Faculty of Public Health), and became its president in 1986. She was also important in the development of hospital services in the 1960s, promoting the need for community-based hospitals, which was put into practice in the development of Milton Keynes - the only place in Europe where a full service was provided in a greenfield situation.
Her achievements were widely recognised through her role as president of the British Medical Association in 1990-91, many honorary fellowships, contributions to national committees and the award of a DBE in 1989.
Rosemary was an inspirational woman without affectations, widely loved and respected. She had enormous determination and energy, and combined a pragmatic, practical approach to all she did with real understanding and compassion.
After retirement, she continued to use her skills as chairman of the Margaret Pyke Trust, a charity involved in family planning and sexual health, chairman of the Wyndham Housing Association, and vice president of the Alzheimer's Society.
She is survived by her two sons, Randalph and Rolf.
· Elsie Rosemary Rue, doctor, born June 14 1928; died December 24 2004
