SUMMARY

Health Management have voluntarily signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.  The code requires us to pay at least 95% of invoices within 60 days of receipt and also stipulates that we work towards adopting 30-day payment release as the norm.

A recent internal review has highlighted that we have made considerable progress, however it is noted that we don’t always meet the 30-day payment terms. In light of this, we are actively working with our supply partners to improve payment timeframes. We are committed to improvement and have produced an action plan to help facilitate this promptly.

Below is a summary of this action plan that has been signed off by our UK Finance Director and is published as per the requirements of the Cabinet Office’s Procurement Policy Note (PPN 04/19).

INCOMPLETE SUPPLIER INVOICES

Problem identified – All the information that we require on supplier invoices to process payments is not always included.

Action – We communicate to any new supplier the information we require to process payments. Additionally, we are proactively contacting existing suppliers to advise them of the information we require in order to pay their invoice promptly.

INTERNAL PROCESSES

Problem identified – In a remote working environment, some of our internal processes are less efficient and cause delays in invoice processing.

Action – One of the most time-consuming processes highlighted in the review was the current invoice approval process. To remedy this, we are looking at ways to simplify the process for both our suppliers and our internal managers, including adoption of technology solutions appropriate for the current working environment. We anticipate this will ensure valid invoices are processed in a timely manner and reduce the time from receipt to payment.

Furthermore, we have established regular payment performance reports to relevant members of our senior management team. We are optimistic that this will ensure unresolved issues are escalated and actions implemented to help us achieve the optimal goal all of payments made within 30 days.