Nottinghamshire MP Robert Jenrick says he is "honoured" to have been appointed as a health minister in new Prime Minister Liz Truss' administration. Mr Jenrick, who represents Newark for the Conservatives, will be working under health secretary Therese Coffey.
Mr Jenrick's appointment was announced earlier this month. In a statement today (Tuesday, September 20) he said: "I was honoured to be asked by the new Prime Minister to serve as Minister for Health, with responsibility for the NHS.
"There is no more important and admired public service than our NHS, which has cared tenderly for me and my family in good times and bad (including the wonderful care my father received only this summer at Telford Hospital) and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to give back to it."
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He added: "I will give the role my all, helping, I hope, to ensure it and its amazing workforce is supported, nurtured and listened to, to the best of our ability. The NHS and social care face very significant challenges as they continue to emerge from the long shadow cast by the pandemic.
"We have set our initial priorities accordingly as: ambulances; backlogs; care; and doctors and dentists (ABCD). These challenges are complex, with no simple solutions, but we will be setting out our plans to address them shortly. I’m looking forward to working with Therese Coffey and the PM in this essential work."
Mr Jenrick previously served as housing secretary from July 2019 to September 2021. He had supported Ms Truss' rival, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, in the recent Tory leadership contest triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson - but later said he would be “rooting” for Ms Truss after she won the battle to become PM.
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