CLAIMS that NHS England were to take over NEW Devon CCG as it was ’going bust’ have been refuted by the commissioning group.

NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG) has responded to a number of stories published online regarding its financial position.

A spokesperson for NEW Devon CCG said a series of misleading and inaccurate stories regarding the finances of the group had been published based on a article from a health news outlet.

’We are dismayed to see a series of misleading and inaccurate stories regarding the finances of NEW Devon CCG that have been published online and across social media.

’It appears that this original story has been tampered with and is currently being circulated as a genuine story.’

The spokesperson also said that the statement which claimed NHS England was to take over NEW Devon CCG as it was ’going bust’ was wholly inaccurate.

They said: ’The CCG’s financial deficit position has been recognised by NHS England and the CCG has cash resources to support this position. The CCG also has a longer term financial plan as part of a wider Devon Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), which aims to be at break-even.’

The online source also claimed that the CCG had been given new legal directions as its spending exceeds the amount made available by the government. The CCG has refuted these claims as ’inaccurate’.

’The CCG has been issued with updated directions, which are less onerous than ones previously issued and this reflects the progress the CCG has made.

’The simple fact is we have had a number of legal directions removed by NHS England because the hard work we have put in has actually improved our situation. The legal directions remaining relate to our financial recovery plan and are purely a continuation of the previous document we were working to.

’The CCG’s in-year deficit for 2016/17 is £42-million. It is £13-million more than the original planned deficit, but this represents around one per cent of the CCG’s total annual budget.’