A NEW leader has been appointed to take charge of NHS commissioning in York.

Phil Mettam is due to take over as the chief officer and accountable officer of the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in October.

His appointment follows the resignation of Dr Mark Hayes who publicly stood down as it was revealed the organisation - which had predicted an end of year deficit of £13million - was placed in special measures by NHS England.

The CCG was rated inadequate for its leadership, finances, planning and performance; and was told its delegated functions “required improvement”.

Mr Mettam, currently chief officer at Bassetlaw CCG, said: “I am looking forward to joining the team in the Vale of York.

“Throughout September, in the run up to my first day as the CCG’s Accountable Officer, I hope to meet the staff and local stakeholders to understand their perspective on health services in the Vale of York.”

Keith Ramsay, the CCG’s Governing Body Lay Chair said: “I’m delighted that Phil will be joining the team and I look forward to working with him as the CCG continues with its plans for a fully integrated, seamless care system in the Vale of York.”

Bassetlaw CCG has recently been rated as ‘outstanding’ by NHS England.

As part of NHS intervention in York, the CCG had been told it must "appoint a new accountable officer with the involvement of NHS England" and to involve the national body in appointments to its executive team and the next tier of management.

York CCG - which runs NHS finances and planning in York, Selby and Tadcaster - now have to address issues raised by NHS ENgland within a timescale agreed by NHS England.