Art ‘plays major role in patient recovery’

HOSPITALS, particularly psychiatric hospitals, should make more use of art as a means of easing the suffering of patients, a conference heard yesterday.

“I don’t mean the suffering of people who are obviously psychologically distressed, but people who may go in for relatively minor operations,” said London-based neurobiologist Professor Semir Zeki.

A keynote speaker at the three-day International Arts and Health Conference organised by the Arts Council, Prof Zeki is a driving force in the scientific study of the way art makes its effects on the brain.