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Hunt ‘very much hopes’ to stay on as health secretary under new PM

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed he ‘very much hopes’ to keep his post.

Speaking at an event on diabetes at the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Hunt said that ‘this may indeed be my last speech as health secretary, but I very much hope it isn’t, because I really think there is so much to do in this area’.

It comes as David Cameron is set to resign as prime minister within the next hour. His successor, Theresa May, is expected to appoint her new cabinet shortly.

Earlier, Mr Hunt had joked that the event marked the first time today that he had been introduced simply as the health secretary, without the prefix ‘current’.

The event marked the launch of Diabetes UK’s State of the Nation report, which raised concerns that in 2014/15 only 2% people newly diagnosed with type 1 and 6% with type 2 diabetes were recorded as attending an education course in self-management.

Mr Hunt said his new ‘Ofsted’ style ratings – the CCG indicators framework – would be key to bringing up standards of care in those CCGs doing badly on these kinds of markers. Pulse understands one of the plannned indicators will measure delivery of structured education.

The health secretary also reiterated his belief that strengthening the ‘doctor-patient relationship’ would be key to improving management of patients with diabetes and other long-term conditions – something that he said was central to his reforms of general practice, where ‘that relationship has been weakened in recent years’.