The former managing director of Worldwide Recruitment has hit out at claims from the NHS that it intervenes to help agencies when Trusts do not pay their bills on time.

Worldwide went into administration in January (Recruiter, 31 May, page 5). Accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy said slow payment from NHS Trusts was a major factor in the company’s demise. Some of Worldwide’s businesses were sold to European Recruitment Network (ERN). But others, including Nursing Professionals, folded completely. 

Cliff Nicholls, formerly of Worldwide, is now working at ERN. He claims that Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust persistently failed to pay Nursing Professionals for agency nursing it had supplied.  Last year, the Trust had a deficit of £40.8m, the biggest in the country.
Nicholls has provided Recruiter with copies of correspondence he had with the Trust’s finance director, Duncan Brodie, who has since left his position.

In October 2005, Worldwide pressed for payments of £38,981.33 to clear all invoices more than 60 days old. Earlier in the year, it had had £175,000 worth of invoices, including £102,000 worth that were at least 90 days old. 
Nursing Professionals’ finance director told the Trust he would look to charge interest for invoices not paid within 30 days.  
Brodie replied: “I feel that we have to be honest and say that we cannot give guarantees around 30 days. From your perspective it may be that with this uncertainty it does not make commercial sense to continue working with the Trust in patient care delivery. This would clearly be hugely disappointing.
“I am sure that you will appreciate that I have a duty to use public funds wisely and if we are in (an) interest-charging arrangement as soon as we trip 30 days, it may not be best value for money for the Trust.”

Nicholls described this statement as “a thinly-veiled threat that they will stop using us if we exercise our statutory right to charge interest”.
The Trust has cut back sharply on agency nursing. Nicholls also wrote to the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA), but said this did nothing to expedite payment.

Janet Bullard, communications manager at NHS PASA, said: “Nursing Professionals did contact NHS PASA about this issue and we did, as a result, contact the Trust with a view to easing the situation.
“NHS PASA is always willing to give the agencies assistance in this type of situation, but the responsibility for payment is ultimately with the Trust,” she added.

Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust did not respond by the time of going to press.