Brand new Chief Executive of the NHS, Simon Stevens, spent his first morning in the job meeting staff and patients at Shotley Bridge Hospital in County Durham.

He started his career in the NHS as a trainee manager at the hospital over a quarter of a century ago.

Mr Stevens visited the cancer unit and rehabilitation service where he spoke with doctors and nurses and asked patients about the quality of their care, and what their food was like.

Mr Stevens said: “It has been wonderful to be able to start my time as NHS England’s Chief Executive at the hospital where I began my NHS career twenty six years ago and which taught me so much about healthcare.

“I’ve started today listening to patients and I give you my absolute commitment that I intend to carry on doing so every day I am in this job.”