Public health doctors urged to confront political challenges

Public health doctors must speak out on the political challenges to healthcare or risk becoming irrelevant, a conference has heard. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professor of European public health Martin McKee said that the profession must not shy away from tackling Government economic policies that negatively impact public health. Professor McKee made the points during the annual Sandy Macara (pictured) memorial address at this year’s public health medicine conference on 4 May on what would have been Sir Sandy’s birthday and in front of an audience that included Lady Sylvia Macara and members of her family. He said: ‘Public health needs to engage with the big issues we face today, and this was exactly what Sandy did. 'These include the macro economy, relations with our European neighbours and the role of multinational corporations and many others. ‘If we’re to make a difference, we have to engage with the big political questions otherwise we make ourselves simply irrelevant. ‘If we accept the need for public health action … where there’s a threat to health, then it must surely be obvious that we have a role to play when Governments adopt austerity policies. ‘We’re committed to the concept of health in all policies but of course austerity in cutting back the budgets across Government will automatically impact on all these policies.’   Budget cuts Chancellor George Osborne subjected the...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news