Leader of NHS Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group steps down as head of NHS group

Dr Tony Naughton, clinical chief officer at NHS Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), will step down at the end of the month.

The leader of the CCG since its formation in April 2013, Dr Naughton, 61, said he felt the time was right to move on.

He said: “As the NHS moves towards more integrated care, which will take some time to complete, it seems sensible that it is overseen by people who will still be in the system in several years’ time.

“Although I am sad to go I leave the CCG with a feeling of immense pride as over the past five years we have achieved so much.”

Dr Naughton has overseen the CCG receive an ‘outstanding’ rating from NHS England, which resulted in a letter of commendation from then health secretary Jeremy Hunt, and a runner-up award in the annual Health Service Journal CCG of the Year Awards.

Dr Naughton said: “We also recently broke a Guinness World Record for exercise and are doing lots to promote fitness and healthy living to people across the Fylde Coast.”