Former South Ribble Council chief executive Mike Nuttall has joined the Governing Body at NHS Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Mr Nuttall has been appointed as lay member for governance, overseeing crucial areas such as financial management, audit, remuneration, risk, managing conflicts of interest and ensuring management and assurance systems are in place and regularly reviewed.

The football fan and Preston North End season ticket-holder has taken the role following the retirement of Paul Olive from the CCG, the organisation that plans and buys health services for the 176,000 people living across the Fylde and Wyre boroughs.

He said: “I have more than three decades of experience within local government and the public sector and was keen to put this to use within the local NHS.

“I have seen a lot of exciting and innovative work being done at Fylde and Wyre over the past few years so I’m delighted to come on board.

“I have lived and worked in Lancashire all my life so have a really good understanding of the opportunities the area has to offer as well as its challenges.

“Coming from a non-NHS background I think this is a perfect opportunity for me to experience a new way of working but also to offer a new way of looking at things.”

A qualified accountant, Mr Nuttall spent 20 years as a director of finance in local government. As part of his new role he will chair the CCG’s audit committee and play a key role in preparing the annual accounts.

CCG chair Mary Dowling said: “I am delighted to welcome Mike to the CCG.  He will build on Paul Olive’s work and play an important role in maintaining and improving our governance arrangements.”