His communication on the NHS is frequently confused and when he cites data, he is usually using the wrong metric to assess any given situation. A generous assessment of this would be that he is seeking to deliberately mislead (this, incidentally, would not be good communication), but generally he gives the impression that he just doesn't know what he is talking about. His knowledge of how the NHS functions is amongst the poorest of any recent health secretary. (Incidentally, the health secretary who arguably understood the NHS best brought in the ruinous health and social care act, so competence isn't everything - an incompetent peacock is better than a competent hatchet man). I wouldn't trust him to run a stall at the school fair, much less the country. If we were to accept, as you suggest, that he's amongst the best communicators in the cabinet, then that would be a shocking reflection on the rest of the cabinet. I will grant you that he's been one of the best self-publicists amongst the cabinet.