JERRY Hawker has been appointed as the new Chief Officer for the NHS Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

He replaces Andrew Bennett for a year period as he fulfils a secondment into the Integrated Care System for Lancashire and South Cumbria as the Executive Lead for Commissioning.

Mr Hawker joined the NHS in 2005 and has held a wide range of executive roles in Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT before joining NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG as its Chief Officer in 2013. He takes over on September 10.