From a high-profile, media-friendly Secretary of State to a relatively unknown MP, the departure of Wes Streeting. arrival of James Murray has raised eyebrows in the health and political worlds.
It is one of the biggest Cabinet jobs with the largest public service departmental budgets.
There will be a steep learning curve with no time for preparation away from the front line.
Murray sayshe's "deeply honoured to be appointed" to the brief. continue "Wes Streeting's brilliant work on such a critical mission", but who is he, and what issues will he face in his in tray?
The new Health. Social Care Secretary was elected to the London seat of Ealing North in 2019, having previously been a Deputy Mayor of London, an Islington councillor from 2006 to 2016 and a management consultant.
He joined the whips office after Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader – following a brief stint on the health. social care select committee - and is seen as a Starmer loyalist.
Like Streeting before him, Murray has also been treated by the NHS as a patient.
During his maiden speech in March 2020, the minister said the NHS came to his rescue after he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune neurological condition caused by problems with signals sent between the nerves. the muscles.
Addressing the Commons at the time, he told MPs they "must win the battle for the NHS. the social care system that we need" and that he would "fight every day for our NHS with the strength that it has given me back".
On his personal website, cutting NHS waiting times also features as a priority, along with creating more evening. weekend appointments every week, "paid for by a crackdown on tax avoidance and non-doms".
The health brief is one of the largest in government,. Murray inherits an overflowing in-tray and a department under continuous scrutiny from politicians, clinicians, patients and the media.
Sorting out the resident doctors' dispute is an immediate challenge. There have been 14 strikes since March 2023 with no resolution in sight yet.
The Royal College of Nursing, meanwhile, says Murray must urgently tackle the depleted and undervalued nursing workforce.
Tackling the issue of corridor care in A&E is another challenge.
A key Labour pledge - ensuring that 92% of patients in England get planned treatment done in 18 weeks - will fall to the new secretary of state. most health experts are doubtful whether the target can be achieved.
This week's King's Speech also included an NHS Modernisation Bill which will have to be steered through parliament. This has all the technical detail required to formalise the abolition of NHS England. the move of its functions to the Department of Health and Social Care.
There will, no doubt, be multiple amendments amidst intense parliamentary scrutiny -. that's not to mention the job cuts and disruption of the administrative shake-up that comes with it.
Intriguingly. Murray comes from one side of the Whitehall table - as a treasury minister fending off spending requests - to the other, as the head of a major spending department.
As Chief Secretary to the Treasury he would have had robust exchanges with Wes Streeting over money for health. His management experience will come in handy, as will his close relationship with the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Some patient. health groups have also raised potential concerns about the change - or disruption - such an appointment can bring.
The Leeds Maternity Families Group said it was a hugely important time to have continuity for bereaved and harmed families. An ongoing independent inquiry is examining repeated failings and potentially avoidable harm to babies and mothers in the NHS.
A spokesperson questioned whether the new Secretary of State would fully grasp the severity of the issues raised with Wes Streeting.
As well as dealing with the overflowing in-tray of policy issues is the need to be patient facing. Wes Streeting had the knack of displaying empathy. understanding of people's health challenges and frustration at NHS failings and delays. Doing media interviews and NHS visits as health secretary will be very different from what's required of a treasury minister.
Mr Murray will know that a lot is riding on his appointment. A transformation of the NHS in England under a 10-year plan has been launched. with a major shift of patient care from hospitals to local communities. Labour's chances at the next general election will to some extent depend on how that plan is progressing. whether patients feel they are getting better NHS care.
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