By Ed Grunill, Senior Account Director at ZPB
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but a lot can happen in two weeks. Our new Labour government has wasted little time since being elected on 5th July and this is certainly true of our new Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting MP.
As healthcare marketing and communications experts, we’ve been interested in the language Wes has used, where his focus has been, and the fragility of the good will Wes and colleagues currently have.
Yes, Streeting has been straight-in with key moves to improve the NHS and set the agenda for change. With so much activity, keeping track of his moves might be tricky. We’ve created a handy Where’s Wes guide to help keep pace with our new leader over his first two weeks in post.
5th July:
The Big Day. With the tiniest of margins, Wes was re-elected as MP for Ilford North. With Labour’s sweeping win, Wes took on the hottest of hot seats in the newly formed cabinet.
From the off Wes has been on the front foot, declaring that the DHSC’s position going forward is that “the NHS is broken”. Powerful words from Wes, and sure to have ruffled some feathers in NHSE.
8th July:
If you have a problem, and no one else can help…Call the A-Team. Wes has a big job on his hands, and he’s going to need strong support behind him.
Wes’ ‘big four’ were Stephen Kinnock MP (Minister for State for Care), Karin Smyth MP (Minister of State for Health, Secondary Care), Andrew Gwynne MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention) and Baroness Merron (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health).
Wes also met with dental leaders to begin negotiations on the NHS dental contract. Dentistry and access to dental services in the UK are at crisis point. Labour has made clear commitments to addressing this, with Wes taking the first step in negotiations.
And Wes didn’t stop there. Prevention is better than the cure (unless you are talking about Robert Smith et al) and Wes was spotted visiting a GP surgery in St John’s Wood with Amanda Pritchard. During the visit Wes reaffirmed Labour’s commitment to the prevention agenda.
9th July:
Industrial action is one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS. On the campaign trail Wes promised that resolving this dispute would be one of his top priorities. Members of the BMA met with Wes on Tuesday morning to discuss pay and working conditions. The proof will be in the pudding, but the BMA describer the talks as “positive”.
Next stop: the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Here Wes spoke about the importance of keeping people healthy and in work, and of his ambition for DHSC to be an economic growth department. Over 2.8 million people are currently inactive due to illness, with projections suggesting the bill for long-term sickness could reach £66 billion a year by 2030. Addressing this and finding ways to keep people healthy and in work could be revolutionary. It was refreshing to hear Wes speak in these terms.
11th July:
Following his first-day proclamation that the NHS is “broken” Wes announced an independent investigation, with the goal of identifying key areas for immediate and long-term improvements. The investigation will be led by Professor Lord Darzi. Wes described the investigation as a way to “diagnose” the issues faced by NHS, so that he can “prescribe” a way to fix it.
Wes wants the UK to know about his plans, and he could be found across the media speaking to key radio and TV programmes. During these appearances Wes impressed, setting out clear commitments to prevention, technology and pharma/life sciences. We were pleased to see Wes’ agenda aligning so closely with ZPB’s key areas of work.
12th July:
Following his trip ton St John’s Wood, Wes wrote for GP news website GP Online about how he would support the industry saying “the cavalry was coming” to support general practice.
14th July:
Wes took to Twitter for his most controversial moment yet, confirming he would continue the previous government’s restriction of puberty blockers in the private sector. This is a highly complex issue, and following Kier Starmer’s comments about trans rights on the eve of the election, it has been met with anger and disappointment by some. Members of Labour’s LGBT wing have written to Wes with “concerns” about an indefinite ban. This is a highly sensitive area for Wes and the way he handles it could have a significant impact on his reputation.
17th July:
Big day. King’s Speech Day. The day when the new Labour parliament officially took office. Healthcare was high on the agenda, with familiar promises to cut waiting lists and focus on prevention. More notable was a promise to reform the Mental Health Act. This is a much needed step, with Mental Health Trusts, services, and the people who rely on them facing significant challenges.
18th July:
Back with the BMA. This time Wes was with chair Katie Bramall-Stainer, discussing how to improve continuity of care and help people access better care within their community.
A busy two weeks for Wes. Foundations laid and bold statements made. The coming months will be crucial as Wes and his team attempt to tackle the multitude of issues within our health and care industry.
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