The new Health and Social Care Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, recently laid out her priorities for the future of the NHS. Taking over the role from interim minister, Steve Barclay, who was appointed in early July following the resignation of Sajid Javid; Coffey said her top priorities for health and social care were: “A, B, C, D – ambulances, backlogs, care, and doctors and dentists.” She was appointed to the Cabinet role as part of new Prime Minister, Liz Truss’s reshuffle and will also serve as Deputy Prime Minister. Asked whether she is ready for strikes, she said: “I think we’ve got to be ready for patients, and that’s my top priority; and how we can make best use of our department and, of course, the NHS in order to achieve the best outcomes for them.” And she told demoralised NHS staff, she recognised ‘they’ve done excellent work’. More details of her policies are expected in the coming days.