John Locke Lecture and the Sydenham Lecture

Last Updated on 12/09/2026

John Locke Lecture: Hate in Healthcare: from Freud to the Frontline – Prof Graham Easton and the Sydenham Lecture: Why are doctors so miserable? – by Prof Clare Gerada

Society Members: Lecture & Drinks £20 / Lecture & Supper £60
Non-Members: Lecture & Drinks £25 / Lecture & Supper £65

Presenting Hate in Healthcare: from Freud to the Frontline (John Locke lecture)
To be given by Prof Graham Easton

Online abuse, verbal and physical assaults, protective screens, and zero tolerance posters all point to a growing tension between healthcare professionals and patients. In this lecture, Professor Easton explores how anger, resentment, even hate, can arise in an increasingly pressured NHS, and how these dynamics shape frontline care. Drawing on key insights into “difficult” clinical encounters, from Freud’s account of the origins of hate to contemporary studies of hostility in healthcare, he asks how we might protect the compassion at the heart of practice. Could a clearer ethical frame, in the spirit of John Locke, help doctors and patients recognise the humanity in each other and rescue a relationship under strain?

Prof Graham Easton is Honorary Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Queen Mary University of London, a GP of 30 years’ experience, and a National Teaching Fellow with Advance HE. His career spans clinical practice, medical education, and BBC journalism, with a particular interest in training doctors in empathic communication, including how to manage “difficult” and aggressive consultations.

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Presenting Why are doctors so miserable? (Sydenham Lecture)
To be given by Prof Clare Gerada

Prof Clare Gerada trained initially in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital before becoming a GP in South London, where she has practised for decades.
Leadership roles:
• Former Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) (2010–2013).
• President of the RCGP (2021–2023).
• Founder and Medical Director of NHS Practitioner Health, the confidential service for doctors and dentists with mental health or addiction problems.

Advocacy: A leading voice on doctors’ wellbeing, burnout, and professional identity. Clare has been instrumental in destigmatising mental illness among healthcare professionals.

Public service: Appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2020 for services to mental health and the NHS.

Peerage: Clare became a Life Peer in the House of Lords in 2025 as Baroness Gerada

Public speaking and writing: Clare frequently speaks and writes on topics such as compassion in medicine, the emotional labour of doctors, and the cultural meaning of the NHS.