SOUTH West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt – the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – has been given a humanitarian award for global leadership on patient safety.

Mr Hunt was presented with the accolade at the sixth annual world Patient Safety Science and Technology summit, which he helped organise, in London on February 24.

Presenting the award, Joe Kiani, founder and chairman of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, said: “Since 2013, Jeremy Hunt has worked tirelessly to improve patient safety and develop a culture of openness and transparency in the National Health Service."

Announcing a new crackdown on medication errors, Mr Hunt told the conference that he plans on making the NHS “the safest healthcare system in the world”.

Previous winners of the humanitarian award include Barack Obama and Joe Biden for their work on America’s Affordable Care Act.