We were delighted to welcome Professor Chris Whitty, Chief
Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health, to the University on
Thursday 15 February to deliver the 20th Sir Arthur Hall Memorial
Lecture.
Sir
Arthur John Hall, a physician, was born in Sheffield on 27 July 1866.
Sir Arthur Hall is remembered as probably the most influential early
figure in the University’s Medical School. He came to Sheffield in 1889
as Assistant Demonstrator in Physiology, and in a long career he
successively held the posts of Professor of Physiology, Professor of
Pathology and Professor of Medicine. Sir Arthur Hall played a major
role in every aspect of the Medical School’s development into the
University’s Faculty of Medicine following the granting of the Charter
in 1905. He retired in 1931 and died in 1951 at the age of 75. The
lecture was founded in 1953 in memory of Sir Arthur John Hall.
The 2018 Sir Arthur Hall lecture considered
where we have come from and where we are going over the next two decades
in health and medicine. Professor Whitty gave an interesting and
insightful lecture into what the NHS could be facing on its 90th
birthday.
Professor Whitty spoke about the significant
changes in health and medicine in the UK over the last two decades and
in many areas of healthcare there have been very substantial changes
since the initial foundation of the NHS in 1948. These include major
reductions in the impact of heart disease and stroke, large changes to
infectious diseases and many improvements in the prevention and
treatment of cancers. Professor Whitty explained that in some areas
however such as diabetes or antimicrobial resistance things are moving
in the wrong direction.
Professor Whitty talked about how the
demography of the UK has changed and is continuing to change. Many
trends have been stable so it is therefore possible to realistically
project forward 20 years in many areas of medicine and public health.
This is crucial in helping to plan policy and research.
Feeback from attendees
'Fabulous speaker, incredibly interesting.'
'An insightful lecture.'
'The content was fascinating and highly
informative; Professor Whitty is evidently an expert in his field and an
experienced, engaging presenter . All the points and opinions he put
forward were supported by relevant data.'