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The Safety of Rwanda Act: a pointless exercise in performative cruelty

Why do politicians have such a low opinion of British people’s compassion to think this policy is a vote winner, asks Martin McKee

Late on 22 April 2024 the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill cleared its final stages in the UK parliament.1 Its stated purpose is to enable the government to send migrants who have reached the UK to Rwanda. The bill was deemed necessary because the government’s previous attempts to send migrants to Rwanda were thwarted, firstly by a series of temporary blocks (Rule 39 orders) imposed by the European Court of Human Rights, and then by the UK Supreme Court.2 The Supreme Court ruled that the government had failed to show that refugees sent to Rwanda would be safe and would not be sent on to another country and that its plans were incompatible with the UK’s obligations under international agreements, in particular, the 1951 Refugee Convention. These decisions created two problems. Firstly, should the government want to proceed, it had to show that Rwanda was indeed safe. Secondly, it would have to prevent last minute orders by the European Court of Human …

United-kingdom , Rwanda , British , Martin-mckee , Law-society , Home-office , European-public-health , London-school-of-hygiene-tropical-medicine , Royal-air , Supreme-court , European-convention-on-human-rights , European-court

NHS and the whole of society must act on social determinants of health for a healthier future

Health is going in the wrong direction in the UK, and reversing the trend requires political and societal commitment to deal with the underlying causes

The UK is facing a prolonged and serious health crisis. At a time when the future of the NHS is in jeopardy after over a decade of austerity, and with public satisfaction at an all time low,1 it must pick up the pieces of failures across government. Attaining good health requires more than healthcare, and improvements in the provision of healthcare by the NHS alone is inadequate to address the health crisis—action is needed on the social determinants of health2 (box 1).

Box 1
### Definition of social determinants of health3

The social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization as: “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems.”RETURN TO TEXT

In this paper, we propose evidence based solutions to the worsening health and widening inequalities in the UK through action on the social determinants of health. (A separate article within the commission is focused on health equity.4) We first outline the problem of deteriorating health across the UK. We then provide an overview of the evidence, showing how action on the social determinants can improve health. We confront the challenging political nature of this area, including rebuttal of criticisms of interventions as actions of a “nanny state” and the neoliberal focus on individualism. Finally, we offer action focused solutions and recommendations on what NHS workers, leaders of NHS organisations and integrated care systems, and the government can do to urgently deal with the deteriorating health of the population.

Although much of the …

Ireland , United-kingdom , Northern-ireland , Craigavon , London , City-of , Smeeth , Kent , Manchester , Scotland , Britain , Victor-adebowale

WHO offers a prescription for tackling the health workforce crisis, but will the UK take the medicine?

A new WHO report on the healthcare workforce offers messages that are especially relevant to the UK, say Hadjer Nacer and Martin McKee

Governments across Europe must act now to tackle a crisis in the health workforce. That was the message from Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in a new report launched at the WHO Regional Committee in Tel Aviv in September 2022.1 While we have become used to comparisons of rich countries, in the EU or OECD, this is the first attempt to describe the situation across all of the region’s 53 member states, including those that emerged from the Soviet Union. The report covers the six groups of health and care workers for whom comparable data are available (medical doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists), but notes the need for data on the other groups in the health workforce. It proposes 10 actions to strengthen health workforces (footnote).

Its messages are especially relevant to the UK. October 2022 saw the NHS reach a grim milestone, with seven million people waiting for elective treatment.2 While much of the blame has focused on the effects of the pandemic,3 underlying problems were becoming apparent much earlier. The NHS had experienced over a decade of underinvestment, affecting everything a modern health system needs. However, the most immediate challenge is the …

France , Tel-aviv , Israel , Germany , United-kingdom , Russia , Spain , British , Soviet , Martin-mckee , Hans-kluge , Hadjer-nacer

Ofsted must change if it is to regain teachers' trust

Ofsted must change if it is to regain teachers' trust
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Finland , Berkshire , United-kingdom-general- , United-kingdom , South-korea , Singapore , Caversham , Reading , British , Sarah-waters , Tony-blair , Michael-gove

When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes The Outcome Is Perversity

In 1959 The Platters , an early rock-and-roll era group, released the song Smoke gets in your eyes (first sung in a 1933 Broadway show: ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’ . The song is a sweetly romantic metaphoric song about falling in love and then breaking-up. ...

New-zealand , Brussel , Bruxelles-capitale , Belgium , London , City-of , United-kingdom , Otago , Wellington , New-zealand-general- , United-states , Otaihanga

Covid-19: Preliminary figures show 1.2% of people in England had infection at end of November

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has delayed the planned release of modelled, weighted prevalence data from the Winter Coronavirus Infection Study until 21 December, although the raw data show a relatively low positivity rate of 1.2% in England in the week to 29 November.

The Winter Coronavirus Infection Study started on 14 November and will run until March 2024. It replaced the much larger Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey, which ended in March 2023.

Whereas the ONS infection survey used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the new study, run jointly by the ONS and the UKHSA, relies on less sensitive lateral flow device tests. However, both studies are based on prospective random sampling of the population, so they give a good estimate of covid prevalence, including people who are asymptomatic.

The ONS has released the first raw data from the Winter Coronavirus Infection Study, based on a sample of 28 000 people.1 It shows that in the week 23-29 November 1.2% of people in England tested positive, up from 1% in the week 16-22 November. These estimates have not been adjusted for any biases in the sampling or the lower sensitivity of the …

Midlands , Leicestershire , United-kingdom , Pakistan , Pakistani , Christina-pagel , Martin-mckee , United-kingdom-health-security-agency , Department-of-health , London-school-of-hygiene , Office-for-national-statistics , Twitter

Communicating scientific advice: lessons from the UK covid-19 inquiry

Communicating scientific advice: lessons from the UK covid-19 inquiry
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