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Martin McKee

@martinmckee.bsky.social

12K followers 650 following 1K posts

Prof of European Public Health LSHTM Co-Director European Observatory on Health Systems & Policy Member Independent SAGE Past President BMA & EUPHA Committed to 🇬🇧 rejoining 🇪🇺 https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/mckee.martin .. more

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Clifford Martin McKee, CBE, is professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Source: Wikipedia

Public Health 40%

Medicine 24%

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 12h

Agree - social media not ideal for nuance! Just as an example see how NZ copes without a constitution (but does have Treaty of Waitangi) but lots changed when PR was introduced. Israel interesting too in that respect. But I’ll leave it there!

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 13h

Thanks - we certainly don’t see it as a panacea - and as we see in the US, even a written constitution doesn’t protect things. We just want to make it more difficult to wreck things

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 14h

We agree - AI won’t replace doctors, but doctors who use AI (and are trained to do so) may replace doctors who don’t

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The Future of the Health Professions: Navigating Shortages, Imbalances, and Automation

The healthcare sector is undergoing significant transformation driven by workforce shortages, role imbalances, and technological advances. Traditional health professions, characterised by advanced kn...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 14h

Do read the full report where we address this at much more length than can get into a single line. We did take advice. The U.K. situation offers challenges and opportunities

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Reposted by Martin McKee, Sari Kovats, Richard Betts , and 9 more Martin McKee, Sari Kovats, Richard Betts, Scott L. Greer, Elizabeth Stokoe, Peter Campbell, Alison Phipps, Ben Worthy, Max Nathan, Margot C. Finn, Graham Dutfield, Vaughan S. Roberts

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15h

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Reposted by Martin McKee

Colin Gordon @colinngordon.bsky.social · 18h

yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/str...
@hj4euinspain.bsky.social @grassrootsforeurope.org @europeanmovement.co.uk @martinmckee.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social
Important analysis of UK democratic vulnerabiities, as now illustrated by USA.
@euds.europarl.europa.eu @nathalieloiseau.bsky.social

Strengthening the institutions we rely on

A new report finds that the UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

yorkshirebylines.co.uk

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 21h

In Budapest for @horizoneu.bsky.social EUTOPIA-EAST project meeting. Truly humbling presentation from Ukrainian colleagues not just maintaining but strengthening and innovating cancer screening in the most difficult conditions

Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 1d

Can’t work out whether Labour are doing things that will make the catastrophic effects of Brexit even more obvious by accident or design

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022...

Pubs struggle to retain staff after Brexit and Covid ‘double whammy’

Brexit brought the biggest shift in UK’s immigration regime in a generation, as free movement of people from the EU ended

www.theguardian.com

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 1d

The UK is no longer offering COVID vaccines to pregnant women – here’s why that might be a bad idea

From spring 2025, pregnant women will no longer be eligible for free COVID vaccines in the UK.

theconversation.com

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, @karambales.bsky.social can. And the explanation is deeply disturbing

bylinetimes.com/2024/12/09/c...

Bot Verification

bylinetimes.com

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 2d

Then we have Kemi Badenoch talking complete nonsense. The ruling on the Rwanda case said, in terms, that it did NOT rely on the ECHR.

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 3d

BBC Radio 4 Today takes the political temperature in Manchester by interviewing a cross section of the population … in a golf club
Next, a representative survey of US public opinion in Mar a Lago?

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 3d

Many congratulations and good luck at a critical moment for multilateral action for global health

Reposted by Martin McKee, Holger Hestermeyer, Seán Hanley

Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 5d

Well it has happened.
The leadership of the Conservative&Unionist Party is advocating leaving the ECHR. Not reforming it, or working with other members to alter any rules.
Leave it. Like Putin’s Russia.
I can’t help wondering what those Tories who are rightly proud of 🇬🇧’s support for 🇺🇦 are thinking.

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 10d

Pleased to be invited to join @whoeurope.bsky.social new Technical Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health. Great first meeting last week. So much to discuss
www.who.int/europe/news/...

WHO/Europe launches Technical Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health

WHO/Europe has formed the Technical Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (TAG-AI) to guide the ethical, responsible and equitable use of AI in health across the WHO European Region. Th...

www.who.int

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 11d

And well worth a visit (especially during the wine festival!)

Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 11d

Further reading from the always insightful @snellarthur.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/snel...

Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 11d

Preliminary results from the Moldovan electoral commission show the Russian stooges having done poorly. If these results continue, this is incredibly good news.

pv.cec.md/preliminare

Rezultate preliminare

pv.cec.md

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 11d

Encouraging news from Moldova. For those unfamiliar with its courageous & inspirational President, see her Lunch with FT. Now big question is stance of Alternativa (BEA) on 🇪🇺 as sometimes confused
on.ft.com/3HHWNko Moldova’s Maia Sandu: ‘They would like to remake the Soviet Union’

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Reposted by Martin McKee

Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 11d

Preliminary results from the Moldovan electoral commission show the Russian stooges having done poorly. If these results continue, this is incredibly good news.

pv.cec.md/preliminare

Rezultate preliminare

pv.cec.md

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Reposted by Martin McKee

Dr Louella Vaughan @drlkvaughan.bsky.social · 11d

@martinmckee.bsky.social @drrachelclarke.com @parthaskar.bsky.social @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social

Reposted by Martin McKee

Dr Louella Vaughan @drlkvaughan.bsky.social · 11d

The RCP is asking Fellows to vote on key constitutional reforms, including extending the franchise.

A group of 27 Fellows tabled a motion saying reform should be slowed down + done properly.

Not enough information. Too many questions.

Our views here:

tinyurl.com/ye5k2fa2

RCP Constitutional Reforms - The Case for No (Not Yet)

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is currently asking Fellows to vote on constitutional reforms. The reforms seem relatively straightforward – widening the franchise to allow Collegiate members to...

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Martin McKee, Steve Peers, Benjamin Braun , and 1 more Martin McKee, Steve Peers, Benjamin Braun, Jonathan Hopkin

French Aid to Ukraine 🇫🇷 🤜🤛 🇺🇦 @aidefranceukr.bsky.social · 12d

What lessons can Star Wars offer us about the significance of safeguarding democracy? Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, shared his thoughts on the subject with students at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

@jnbarrot.bsky.social
@marie-doha.bsky.social

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Reposted by Martin McKee, Stephen P. Jenkins

Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 17d

REVEALED: bombshell evidence of the link between Tylenol and autism.

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Reposted by Martin McKee

Paul Belcher FRCP MFPH Hon 🇪🇺🇬🇧 @pauljbelcher.bsky.social · 17d

Dear friends at #EHFG2025, could I kindly ask you to monitor #Bluesky for online comments/contributions this year, as so many of our health community have left/are leaving X/Twitter including myself, @martinmckee.bsky.social @freekspinnewijn.bsky.social @carocostongs.bsky.social etc - Thank you 🙏

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 18d

What we said at the time - I am enraged

www.bmj.com/content/bmj/...

www.bmj.com/content/bmj/...

www.bmj.com

Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 19d

Strongly suspect you’re right but seems reckless to give them the excuse that they’re only enacting laws passed by previous governments (and I simply can’t grasp why we’re not adopting a fair voting system to reduce risks of extremist minority taking over)

Reposted by Tom Shakespeare

Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 19d

A suggestion for UK Parliament. Before passing any new law, consider plausible worst case scenario for how a future Reform government would use it. Then start to review existing laws. And if you don’t, don’t complain when it all goes wrong (assuming that government hasn’t locked you all up)

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Reposted by Jocalyn Clark, Mike Daube

Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 19d

Leaving aside optics of attending at any time an event hosted by industry that does so much to create misery, transferring billions from the poor and desperate to billionaires, Rachel Reeves’ decision to do so ahead of a budget seriously questions her judgment

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Rachel Reeves due to appear at gambling lobbyist’s event amid tax review

Chancellor’s invitation criticised as ‘strange timing’ with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on £12bn sector

www.theguardian.com

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Martin McKee @martinmckee.bsky.social · 21d

Disappointing but not surprising. Sadly, a few BBC “journalists”, like this one, are little more than note takers (an auto scribe could do better) while many others are outstanding (and courageous). And completely wrapped up in his own little bubble.

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Reposted by Martin McKee, Elizabeth Stokoe

Ellen 't Hoen @ellenthoen.bsky.social · 21d

Meanwhile on the dark side:

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