Clinical commissioning groups in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge have been taken out of financial special measures.

The measures were imposed on the CCGs in March 2017, but these have now been lifted by regulator NHS England and NHS Improvement.

The news has been welcomed by Dr Jagan John, chairman of NHS Barking and Dagenham CCG, Dr Atul Aggarwal, chairman of NHS Havering CCG, and Dr Anil Mehta, chairman of NHS Redbridge CCG.

In a joint statement they said: "We're pleased that the sustained efforts of our staff, GPs and practice teams have resulted in us making significant improvements which NHS England and NHS Improvement has now recognised. This result is testament to their commitment and hard work.

"This progress would not have been possible without the input and support of our local partners in health and social care across the three boroughs.

"Since March 2017 we've strengthened our financial governance, delivered a challenging programme of savings and agreed a financial recovery plan with our NHS provider colleagues which aims to bring the BHR system into financial balance and transform services for local people.

"While we're pleased that our progress has been recognised, we know that there is still much to do if we are to deliver against our recovery plan.

"Our efforts are now focused on medium and longer term transformation of care. We know that we need to invest to prevent people becoming unwell and to ensure that people are treated in the right place, by the most appropriate person."

Jane Milligan, accountable officer of the three CCGs, said: "This is excellent news and I'm really pleased for everyone involved as I know how hard they have all worked to make this happen. The progress we have made in BHR has been down to greater collaboration between partners, strong local leadership and a collective focus on making real and sustainable improvements for the people we serve.

"We recognise there are still areas that need further improvement but we are now in a much better position to focus on them and continue to build on the positive work we've achieved."