Thérèse Coffey became health secretary and deputy prime minister after Truss promised in her first No 10 speech to put the NHS “on a firm footing”. In an opening speech to staff at the Department of Health and Social Care, Coffey twice repeated an “ABCD mantra”: ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentistry. Speaking outside, he said the government would “make sure we deliver for patients” and that its top priority was “how we can make better use of our departments and of course the NHS in order to achieve the best outcomes
