THE leader of York's NHS Commissioning Group has stepped down from his role - as the struggling health body has been placed in special measures.

Dr Mark Hayes announced he was standing down as the leader and accountable officer of the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) this evening as it was revealed the organisation - which had predicted an end of year deficit of £13m - was placed in special measures by NHS England.

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

As part of the intervention it has 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.

Dr Mark Hayes, a former GP in Tadcaster, said: “I have decided that the time is right for me to hand over the reins of NHS Vale of York CCG to a new leader.

“The last four years with the CCG, one in shadow form and three as a statutory body, have been the happiest of my career.

“Together we have achieved a great deal as we have striven to make progress towards creating a sustainable healthcare system for the locality.

“Despite posting financial surpluses for two years the CCG experienced a deficit last year and the challenge this brings requires a new leader with a different skill set to my own."

ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads NHS England said Vale of York CCG - which runs NHS finances and planning in York, Selby and Tadcaster - will have to act on the issues that have been identified in relation to capacity, capability, financial governance and financial recovery, with the implementation of a plan that addresses these within a timescale agreed by NHS England.

In June, The Press reported how the financial position of NHS accounts in York has deteriorated to a predicted end-of-year deficit of £13.3 million.

Helen Hirst, Chief Officer at Bradford City and Bradford Districts CCG, is acting as a temporary, interim accountable officer in York.

She said the CCG's current rating relates to last year’s performance and it is widely understood that the CCG is currently in a "financial turnaround situation".