About the lecture
Each year the conference agenda committee organises a memorial address or lecture in memory of Sir Sandy Macara.
Since his death in 2012 the PHMC (public health medicine committee) has held an annual commemoration address in memory of Sir Alexander ‘Sandy’ Macara. In establishing the lecture, the PHMC declared that 'Sir Alexander was an absolutely extraordinary person who was deeply committed to the BMA and to public health.
This year's lecture will be on the theme:-
The arts, medicine and healing − tools for challenging times.
Medical humanities and the arts are more important than ever for public mental health. A breath of fresh air in the close confines of hospital or nursing home, a unique bridge between doctor and patient to understanding and managing illness, and mental health support − how do we embed medical humanities and art in our professional and personal lives? And how can we create and tell meaningful stories that improve health and care and make the world a better place?
Key speaker
The lecture will be given by Professor Mary Black.
Mary E Black is a senior public health leader who has worked in war zones, the NHS, local government, the UN and at the forefront of the UK’s COVID−19 response.
Like Sandy Macara, she is a storyteller. Her short memoir ‘Blood and Roses’ won the fish publishing memoir prize in 2021. As a visiting fellow at the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing, she is working on ‘Her life in Hats’ a full-length memoir of three generations of women doctors.
As a trustee of the national charity ‘Patients in hospitals’ she designed and led a national digital campaign to celebrate arts and health for the 70th birthday of the NHS and continues to explore visual arts in relation to patient voice and healing.