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09
Nov
Harrogate and Ripon hospital trust blames financial pressures for late supplier payments
The trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital has blamed “significant financial pressures” for late payment to its suppliers.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which also operates Ripon Community Hospital, has a target to pay supplier invoices within 30 days.
However, latest board papers show that the trust is only paying around one-fifth of suppliers on time.
A hospital spokesperson told the Stray Ferret that it had pressures on its cash position which has required “payments to be carefully managed and prioritised”.
According to board papers from September, trust officials warned that payments would need to be withheld to cover payroll without emergency cash support from NHS England.
A spokesperson said:
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, like many NHS organisations across the country, continues to face significant financial pressures. These pressures on the Trust's cash position has required payments to be carefully managed and prioritised, resulting in a higher proportion of invoices being paid outside the 30-day target than we would have liked.
We are focussed on improving payment performance, ensuring suppliers are paid as promptly as possible, while continuing to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients and communities.
Our suppliers are important partners and we value the essential goods and services they provide. We remain committed to working constructively with them and improving the timeliness of our payments.
It comes as the hospital trust is currently running at a deficit of £18.7m, according to its own board papers.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said in his latest board report that the trust had agreed a financial recovery programme which includes recruitment controls.
However, he added that the trusts’ cash position means it had to seek financial support from NHS England.
Mr Coulter said:
We have a significant cash risk as a result of the financial position. This risk is the highest risk on our corporate risk register. We received some cash support during 2025/26, but not to the extent that we required. We have been managing this on a daily basis, with payments being delayed, with a cost to the suppliers, our team, and also directly in terms of late payment fines.
Mr Coulter confirmed that the trust had approached NHS England for further financial support to help its cash position.
The Stray Ferret revealed in May that the trust had also commissioned multinational consultancy firm KPMG to carry out the work to review its finances at a cost of £50,000.
Mr Coulter said the firm had advised the trust to improve its productivity, its procurement strategy and manage its strategic areas better, such as diagnostics where the trust is seeing increased demand.
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