Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed Therese Coffey as the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Coffey, a key ally of Truss, was appointed as part of a major cabinet reshuffle after the new PM assumed office yesterday.

She replaces Steve Barclay who was in post for just three months after succeeding previous incumbent Sajid Javid.

Coffey has been Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions for the past three years.

Previously, Coffey was Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between July and September 2019 and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from July 2016 to July 2019.

Coffey served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from May 2015 until July 2016 and served on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee until she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Fallon, Minister for Business and Energy.

She has campaigned on stopping the A14 toll, improving NHS experience for patients and better broadband.

Nadra Ahmed, executive chairman of the National Care Association, told Caring Times: “Being appointed to the role at this critical time we urge the Secretary of State to take every opportunity to understanding the critical role of social care in supporting the citizens of our nation when they need it most. Her predecessors have promised to ‘fix social care’ but put all their energies into using it as a way to stabilise the NHS.

“We understand the desire to focus on the NHS but the fact that eludes the understanding of those who have held this position in the past, is the route to curing the challenges faced by colleagues in the NHS is to invest in social care by creating a sustainable plan which will make it fit for the future. Her additional role as Deputy Prime Minister enables her to influence the change required to support our sector to recover and not just survive but thrive. I look forward to working with her and her team at this critical time.”

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “I welcome the appointment of Therese Coffey as Health and Social Care Secretary and I hope she makes good on the Prime Minister‘s promise of £13billion for social care and she needs to do something immediately about the utilities crisis and the workforce challenges”