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New Health and Social Care Secretary appointed in UK

Matt Hancock, previously the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has taken over from Jeremy Hunt as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care due to a reshuffling of the Cabinet of the UK. (Photograph: TwoCom/Shutterstock)

Tue. 17 July 2018

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LONDON, UK: The recent resignation of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has caused a reshuffling of the Cabinet of the UK, with Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt taking up Johnson’s vacated role. Matt Hancock, previously the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, will now take over Hunt’s previous duties.

Johnson, one of the most notable advocates for the Brexit movement, announced his resignation the day after Brexit secretary David Davis resigned. Hunt enters his new position as the longest serving Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in British history, having commenced that role in 2012.

The British Dental Association (BDA), which recently sought clarity from Hunt over the place of primary care and prevention within the £20 billion pledge that formed part of the NHS’s 70th birthday celebrations, has already responded to Hancock’s new appointment.

“Failure to offer a credible costed plan for oral health is piling pressure across the NHS, most clearly illustrated by tooth decay’s status as the number one reason for child hospital admissions,” said Chair of the BDA’s Principal Executive Committee Dr Mick Armstrong.

“We had asked Mr Hunt to clarify if any of the recent spending boost would actually be put to work where it could achieve greatest effect and lasting change through prevention and public health,” added Armstrong.

“This profession has serious questions, and his successor will have to provide answers on whether dentistry will remain the missing piece in healthcare strategies.”

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