20 March 2007
Tony Blair praised Department of Health workers today for making a difference and improving people’s lives.
He visited a HQ building in central London to find out more about the policy work that is helping to transform the NHS.
Addressing hundreds of staff who gathered in the atrium of Skipton House, the PM admitted this was a time of "immense pressure and change" for the health service.
The Department was facing the biggest set of changes since the NHS was founded, he said.
But everyone who works in healthcare should be proud of the work they are doing - which is often far more difficult than that faced by top entrepreneurs or multinational businesses.
Later in the day the PM paid a similar visit to the Department for Education and Skills.
He thanked staff for their hard work, and said that they were the "engine room" for reforms. He said that human capital was now vital, which meant that education had an economic imperative that was as important as its social mission.
Mr Blair spoke to staff and visited "The Bridge" - part of the schools directorate where they can track progress in key areas.
Yesterday, at the launch of the first policy review paper into public services, the PM said that frontline health and education service should be more focused on the needs of those who use them.
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