How to be a health secretary

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7285.563/a

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James Owen Drife, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology

Leeds

So the general election is over and you are the new secretary of state for health. Welcome to the best job in the cabinet. You will be advised by some of Britain's brightest young sociology graduates, who will help you draw up your plan for revolutionising health care.

Other cabinet posts carry responsibilities. Defence secretaries, for example, have been known to resign over mistakes. With health, however, like transport and prisons, public expectations are …