The Secretary of State for Health has praised the work of NHS staff and highlighted their response to the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.
In a message to NHS staff, Jeremy Hunt (pictured) said: “When I was first made Health Secretary I said it was the biggest privilege of my life, and so it has proved. What I didn’t realise then was that it would also become my biggest passion – working in health is not just a job but a vocation.
“The election period reinforced more acutely than ever the incredible work of the NHS, particularly the way staff dealt first with the global cyber-attack and then with horrendous terror attacks in Manchester and London.
“After the Manchester bombing I met nurses caring for bereaved families with incredible compassion, whilst in London I heard stories of doctors who cycled the length of the city at 2am just because they wanted to help.
“These stories speak to a wider truth: NHS staff do an amazing job, often in the most difficult of circumstances. And it is this which brings us all together – our great belief in the NHS, what it stands for and what we believe it can be. Your compassion, energy, dynamism and total dedication, day in, day out, are truly humbling.”
Mr Hunt added that going forward it is his mission to support NHS staff in delivering the safest and highest quality care in the world.
He continued: “Going forwards, we must continue to focus not just on equity but also on excellence. We need to continue our work on patient safety, continue the transformation of mental health, continue developing new models of care and continue to put as much energy into prevention as into cure.
“That’s my mission – to support the NHS to become the safest, highest quality health system in the world.
“This is not to ignore the fact that difficult issues lie ahead. Money is always going to be a pressure, for instance. But I am confident that, working together, we can unite the whole NHS to deliver the safest, highest quality care anywhere in the world.”
