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Andy Burnham |
Andy Burnham has been named as the new health secretary.
Burnham will replace Alan Johnson who moved to become the home secretary as part of Gordon Brown’s cabinet reshuffle, earlier today.
It is also believed that Ben Bradshaw will be leaving the Department of Health to take over Burnham’s former role as Secretary for culture, media and sport.
Burnham has already had several years of experience within the health sector after he began working for the NHS confederation as parliamentary officer in the late 1990s.
After being elected in 2001 as the MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester he became a member of the health select committee between 2001 and 2003.
In a previous government reshuffle in May 2006 he was promoted from the Home Office to minister of state at the Department of Health.
He had key responsibility for primary care between 2006 and 2007 and promoted the idea of the NHS constitution, which was later adopted by Brown and put in place earlier this year.
During his time as minister, he also spent time on the NHS frontline shadowing a GP, porter, cleaner and psychiatric nurse to gain a deeper insight into the health service.
Steve Barnett, NHS Confederation chief executive, said: “Andy Burnham is an excellent choice for health secretary and already knows the brief well from his previous post at the department.”
He added that the new health secretary would face “major challenges” as NHS finances were squeezed.
However Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the King’s Fund, said it was frustrating that there was another change at the top.
He said: “It is frustrating to have another change at the top when Alan Johnson had been in post for less than two years. This move has nothing to do with what is best for the health service.”
He added: “However, if a change had to be made we welcome the choice of Andy Burnham. He has experience of the health system both as a minister and in his earlier career and he has shown he is committed to the NHS and to reform.”
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