UK Primary Care Payments: Above Average, But Plenty of Room for Improvement

The Numbers

• Companies Analysed: 21
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 61.0/100
• UK Average (all sectors): 50.0/100
• Primary Care Sector Advantage: 11.0 points
• Top Payer: Optical Express Limited (97.5/100)
• Bottom Payer: Catalyst Healthcare (Romford) Limited (45/100)
• Regional Leader: Scotland (71.3 avg)
• Regional Laggard: London (59.1 avg)

What Stands Out

While the UK Primary Care sector surpasses the national average for payment practices, a score of 61 out of 100 suggests there's ample opportunity for improvement, particularly among the lower-performing companies. The spread of scores, from Optical Express's near-perfect 97.5 to Catalyst Healthcare's 45, indicates significant disparity in how organisations prioritise timely payments to their suppliers.

Best Payers

1. OPTICAL EXPRESS LIMITED - 97.5/100
2. VISION LABS LTD - 76.9/100
3. GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL CHILDREN'S CHARITY - 76/100
4. HCRG CARE LTD - 75.28/100
5. SCRIVENS LIMITED - 70.73/100

Worst Payers

1. CATALYST HEALTHCARE (ROMFORD) LIMITED - 45/100
2. IDH LIMITED - 45.1/100
3. PETRIE TUCKER AND PARTNERS LIMITED - 45.1/100
4. WHITECROSS DENTAL CARE LIMITED - 45.9/100
5. LROWLAND COMPANY RETAIL LIMITED - 48/100

Regional Patterns

Scotland leads the way with an average score of 71.3, significantly higher than London's 59.1, implying a potentially stronger emphasis on prompt payments or better financial management practices among Primary Care companies north of the border. The remaining regions – West Midlands (70.7), South West (65.7), and South East (62.9) – show moderate performance with a relatively small pool of companies feeding into those averages, so we should avoid reading too much into them.

If you're dealing with late payments and want to calculate the interest owed, use our late payment calculator.

While Primary Care is above average, the lowest payer's score of 45 and the sector average of 61 mean there's plenty of room for improvement if all 21 companies hit the highs of Optical Express.