Martin McKee

Clifford Martin McKee (born 12 July 1956) is Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and trained as a doctor at Queen’s University Belfast and specialized initially in internal medicine at Belfast City Hospital before moving into public health. He created the European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, a WHO Collaborating Centre comprising a team of researchers working primarily on health and health policy in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He is also research director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, a partnership of universities, national and regional governments, international agencies and President-elect of the European Public Health Association. He has published over 740 scientific papers and 42 books, was an editor of the European Journal of Public Health for 15 years and is a member of numerous editorial boards, and an editorial consultant to The Lancet. According to the Lancet "Just conversing with Martin McKee is liable to cause jetlag. A champion of European health care, he is a blur of kinetic energy, as he travels around the world to engage researchers and policy makers in neglected health issues of central and eastern Europe".[1] Martin McKee currently lives in London with his wife Dorothy and two daughters Rebecca and Charlotte.

Health in times of transition

Appointed to a senior lecturer post in 1989 with responsibility for developing a program of research in Europe, he was immediately confronted with two major changes: the collapse of the communist regimes in central and eastern Europe and, later, in the USSR, and the removal of borders within the expanding European Union. He has led major programs on both issues. With his colleagues Professor David Leon and Vladimir Shkolnikov, he has contributed important new insights into the adverse health consequences of rapid social and political transition, the entry of the international tobacco corporations into these new markets, and the role of alcohol, and especially substances such as aftershaves (odekolon) in the high levels of premature mortality seen in this region. More recently, his work on social change has extended into a large body of research on the health effects of the post-2007 financial crisis, jointly with Dr David Stuckler. His research on the European Union has been equally broad, including books and articles on the impact of European law on health and health policy, European research policy, and cross-border mobility of patients. In 2013 he led a Lancet series on health in Europe. In 2016 he co-founded Healthier IN the EU, a grassroots campaign making the health case for continued UK membership of the European Union.[2]

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

With colleagues Josep Figueras, Elias Mossialos, and Richard Saltman, he established the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, now recognized as a leading source of evidence on health policy in Europe and beyond.

Polyclinics

When Lord Darzi proposed the establishment of Polyclinics in England he wrote a paper with Bernd Rechel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in which they observed:

Polyclinics were a centrepiece of the Soviet model of healthcare delivery, but many countries of Central and Eastern Europe have abandoned them over the past two decades in favour of a system of general practice that draws extensively on the British model. Advisers from the World Bank, the EU, and many bilateral donors agreed that the polyclinic had failed to deliver modern, integrated health care and saw general practices as the future.[3]

Increased death rate

His involvement in the article Why has mortality in England and Wales been increasing?,[4] written with Danny Dorling and others generated a great deal of publicity. The Daily Mail carried his picture and described him as "an outspoken Remain campaigner who has written blogs on the dire consequences of leaving the EU."[5] The article suggested that the most likely reason for increased mortality among old people in England and Wales in 2015 was the application of austerity policies, saying that “the evidence points to a major failure of the health system, possibly exacerbated by failings in social care”.[6]

Attitude to NHS Reform

He has been a strong critic of the NHS reforms introduced by the UK's coalition government in 2012, arguing that they were unworkable and would lead to fragmentation and confusion. In January 2014 he said that continuing health inequalities among London boroughs was a scandal and claimed coalition reforms had left it unclear who was supposed to analyse health data and tackle the problems highlighted.[7]

Honors and awards

McKee has received honorary doctorates from the universities of Debrecen (Hungary), Maastricht (The Netherlands), Karlstad (Sweden), and the Nordic School of Public Health. He has been elected to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the US Institute of Medicine. He was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to health in the 2005 Birthday Honours.

References

  1. ↑ "Martin McKee: champion of public health in Europe". The Lancet. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  2. ↑ O’Dowd, Adrian (2016). "UK exit from EU would be serious threat to science and healthcare, experts warn". BMJ: i1117. doi:10.1136/bmj.i1117. ISSN 1756-1833.
  3. ↑ Rechel, Bernd; McKee, Martin (2008). "Lessons from polyclinics in Central and Eastern Europe". British Medical Journal. 337 (7663): 236. doi:10.1136/bmj.a952. JSTOR 20510425.
  4. ↑ Hiam, Lucinda; Dorling, Danny; Harrison, Dominic; McKee, Martin (16 February 2017). "Why has mortality in England and Wales been increasing? An iterative demographic analysis". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Oxford University is accused of political bias for linking care cuts to 30,000 'excess' deaths during 2015". Daily Mail. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "NHS cuts blamed for 30,000 deaths in new study". Independent. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Top 10 causes of death in London boroughs highlight health inequalities". The Guardian. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
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