Hello, everyone.
I want to start by thanking you all for all the fantastic and
vital work you do.
I’m sorry I can’t be with you in Liverpool. But I’m really
looking forward to getting to know you and working with you in
the weeks and months ahead.
It’s a genuine pleasure and a privilege to be your Health and
Social Care Secretary.
My belief in our National Health Service, and its founding
principles, is one of the reasons I came into politics.
Now, I know you might hear this a lot. But for me, it is truly
personal.
Like families up and down the country, I owe our NHS a lot. It
has cared for me and my family, and brought my wonderful son into
the world.
And I want to make sure that it’s here in fighting fit form for
our children and our grandchildren, just as it’s been here for
us.
We have got a lot of work to do. As we continue to bed-in the
reforms government brought forward last year to create strong and
integrated care systems across England.
This will be a shared endeavour.
And it will require all of us to work in partnership. Across our
acute hospitals, mental health, community, general practice, and
pharmacy.
As we reduce the pressures that I know you’re facing, we give
patients the best possible care, and deliver the Urgent and
Emergency Care Recovery Plan for winter.
We know winter will be challenging. But this year, we have all
started to prepare earlier than ever before.
And using our recovery plan, we can continue to expand capacity,
build resilience, and deliver better care. This has to be our
number one priority.
And I recognise that this requires working collaboratively with
other organisations and sectors. For example, working with the
police to support people suffering from mental health crises.
And I’m also very conscious that I’m not just the Secretary of
State for the NHS – I’m also the Secretary of State for Social
Care.
Our unpaid carers and social care workers look after millions of
people every single day. And I cannot wait to work with them too.
Now, we’ll face challenges along the way. But believe me, I am an
optimist. Together, we can overcome these challenges, and take
the long-term decisions that will build a brighter future for our
NHS.
And this is the approach I will take to industrial action.
I’m acutely aware of how the strikes have disrupted patient care,
and I’m committed to getting around the table.
Because, I want to see a fair and reasonable resolution.
This winter will be challenging, but I know that rising to such
challenges is what you all do so well.
You’ve overcome a once in a generation pandemic. You’ve tackled
the longest waits for care it left behind. And you’re delivering
reforms that will give patients more choice and control over
their care.
We’ve got clear recovery plans in place. Financial certainty for
the rest of the year. And the first-ever, fully funded,
reform-focused, long-term workforce plan. Something that I know
NHS Providers have been a strong champion for.
Now, I started this speech by thanking you. I mean it sincerely
to you and all of the incredible people who work in our NHS and
social care services.
So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get on with the job. Now is the
time to deliver for patients, and deliver for our NHS.
